Participants: Pastor Kenneth Cox
Series Code: TOTE
Program Code: TOTE000012
|
00:02 Can you believe it?
00:05 Can you build your faith on it? 00:08 The promises of God's Word are sure. 00:12 They do not fail. 00:17 This book has stood the test of time. 00:30 Father in Heaven, 00:32 tonight as well look at this covenant 00:36 that You desire to make with each of us, 00:39 we pray that You will help us understand what's involved. 00:46 That we might realize 00:50 what You want to do for each of us. 00:53 We ask, Lord, that our faith may not be weak 00:58 but that we might look to You 01:02 and know that all heaven and earth 01:06 is dependent upon Your power, Your strength. 01:10 And the very throne of heaven is staked on the fulfillment 01:16 of Your Word. So we ask tonight 01:19 that You'll bless us as we study Your Word together. 01:22 For this we pray in Christ's name, Amen. 01:33 Revelation the 19th chapter 01:36 pictures Jesus coming back on a white horse. 01:41 And it just simply says that when He comes back 01:45 He has His name written certain places. 01:49 This is what it says... Revelation the 19th chapter 01:52 verse 16: 02:03 So it says He has written on His thigh 02:06 and on His robe His name: KING OF KINGS 02:09 AND LORD OF LORDS. 02:11 Why would that be? 02:13 Why would He have His name written on His thigh? 02:17 Rather a strange place to write His name. 02:20 Or why would He write it on His robe? 02:23 Well, you remember a man in the Bible by the name of 02:28 Jacob? 02:30 You remember Jacob was coming back 02:32 from his uncle Laban's house... headed back to Canaan. 02:37 He's got out onto the plains 02:40 of Paddan, and there he's concerned because 02:44 when he left 20 years ago his father's home 02:48 his brother Esau had said to him: 02:51 "When dad dies, I'm going to kill you. " 02:54 And now he's headed back home and he hears 02:58 that Esau is coming with 400 soldiers. 03:03 And so he thinks that his life is in danger. 03:07 And so here he is, out in the middle of this plain 03:10 and a stranger comes into the camp 03:13 and he begins to wrestle with this stranger 03:15 thinking that it's Esau. 03:17 Wrestles with him all night long. 03:19 As it begins to break towards dawn, he realizes 03:24 that he's been wrestling with an angel. 03:26 And it says that he took hold of this angel 03:32 and said to him: 03:33 "I will not let you go unless you bless me. " 03:37 Do you remember? Do you remember what that angel did? 03:42 Says that he touched his thigh. 03:48 And from that day on Jacob was crippled. 03:52 Touched his thigh. 03:54 Now Jacob is an old, old man. 03:58 He's in Egypt. 04:00 He... he is dying. 04:02 Watch what happens here: 04:25 He said: "If I have found favor in your sight, 04:27 put your hand under my thigh... " 04:38 You see, this was a way that they entered into a covenant. 04:44 That's the way they entered into an oath with that person 04:47 is they put their hand under their thigh 04:51 and they entered into a covenant or took an oath. 04:54 And there's other cases in scripture where that took place. 04:57 So when Jesus comes back 04:59 and He has His name written on His thigh 05:02 that is a sign of the covenant that He has with you. 05:06 That's what that is. 05:07 That's why His name is written on His thigh. 05:10 Why is it written on His robe? 05:13 Well, listen... this is what it tells us: 05:31 Now listen carefully... 05:46 You see, part of this covenant that God wants to make with you 05:50 is that He takes His robe of righteousness 05:54 and places that robe of righteousness around you 05:57 and around me. 05:59 That's the reason when He comes back 06:01 He has His name written on His robe. 06:04 Because His robe represents the righteousness of God 06:08 that God covers you with. 06:10 That's what it stands for; that's what it represents. 06:13 Listen... Hebrews 10 verse 16: 06:28 All right, this is the covenant He's entering into with you. 06:31 He says: "I'll take My law and I'll write it on their hearts, 06:33 put it in their minds. " OK. 06:45 You see, He simply takes that robe of righteousness 06:48 and He covers you and I with that robe of righteousness. 06:52 So when Jesus comes back in the clouds of heaven 06:55 and He has His name written on His thigh 06:57 and upon His robe, that is the covenant that He's made with you 07:01 and He said: "Listen, I'm not going to remember your sins 07:04 any more. " 07:06 That's what He's talking about: 07:08 very, very special covenant 07:11 that God wants to make with you tonight. 07:13 You see, in the English language 07:16 we have quite a few different words for a covenant. 07:20 Sometimes we refer to a covenant as a will. 07:25 Sometimes when they make out a will they refer to it 07:27 as a covenant. This is an agreement. 07:31 Something that they made. We use the word 07:33 contract also for a covenant. 07:37 That can refer to a covenant. 07:39 Or we use the word testament. 07:43 That's what you have here... 07:44 Old and New Testament 07:49 means old and new covenant. 07:52 See, that's a word for covenant is the word testament. 07:55 Or you have the word agreement. 07:58 That's another word for a covenant: 08:00 an agreement that's made, a contract. 08:02 Or... you use the word covenant itself. 08:05 So when we're talking about a covenant 08:08 and entering into a covenant with God, 08:11 there's very special things 08:13 that we want to see about that 08:14 covenant. So tonight I want to give you a definition 08:18 of what a covenant is so you can understand. 08:22 If you're going to enter into a covenant with God, 08:24 what are those conditions? 08:26 This is what a definition of a covenant is: 08:37 That is a covenant. 08:39 When an individual or parties 08:42 bind themselves to each other 08:46 to fulfill certain conditions, 08:48 that is a covenant. 08:50 OK? 08:51 So, let's say tonight 08:55 we're going to enter into a covenant. 08:59 OK? Let's say that you and I 09:01 are going to enter into a covenant. 09:03 When, if we enter into a covenant, 09:07 when is that covenant in force? 09:10 Now let me illustrate what I'm saying. 09:13 Let's say that you and I enter into a covenant. 09:16 We put down all the conditions of the covenant. 09:19 We list it all; we decide what we want to agree on. 09:22 And we take that to a lawyer 09:25 and we have that written up in legal language. 09:27 He writes it all up. We have it notarized. 09:31 OK. Can that covenant be changed? 09:40 Can that covenant be changed? 09:42 Well, let's say there's some condition in that covenant 09:45 that both of us don't like. 09:47 We get... we make the covenant, we get it all settled 09:51 and everything, but it just doesn't work quite right 09:54 and so both of us don't like it. 09:55 Can we go back to the lawyer and get that changed? 09:59 Oh yes. We can go back to the lawyer. 10:01 We can have him strike out part of it 10:04 and we can initial it. 10:05 OK? 10:08 Let's say that one of us dies. 10:12 Can it be changed? 10:15 All right, now listen carefully: 10:37 So the covenant goes in force after men are dead. 10:42 So what I'm trying to tell you tonight... 10:44 don't let anybody ever tell you any different. 10:47 The covenant... if Jesus Christ 10:51 was going to change the covenant... 10:55 Follow me, folks. If Jesus Christ 10:58 was going to change the covenant, 11:00 He had to do it before He died 11:02 because when He died He sealed it with His blood. 11:06 Cannot be changed once Jesus died. 11:10 So no matter what anybody ever tells you 11:14 the covenant had to be changed if it was going to be changed 11:18 BEFORE Jesus died... not AFTER He died. 11:24 The Bible doesn't teach that. 11:26 Neither does legal terms teach that. 11:29 It teaches that it's in force after men are dead. 11:34 OK. So God has a special covenant 11:39 that He wants to enter into with you and with me. 11:47 Just simply saying that it was dedicated to blood. 11:51 God has a covenant that He wants to make with man. 11:54 Let's take a look... see what that covenant is. 11:57 Now dear friends, I can't think of anything in God's Word 12:03 that offers more to you and to me 12:09 than what I'm about to read to you. 12:11 You look at this carefully... wonderful promise. 12:14 OK? 12:17 Exodus the 19th chapter verse 5: 12:26 Now God's saying to you - 12:27 and we'll see that this applies to you tonight - 12:30 God's saying: "If you'll obey My voice, 12:33 keep My covenant... " what's going to happen? 12:47 God said: "If you will obey My voice, 12:50 keep My covenant, you will be a special people to Me. " 12:55 That's what God is saying. 12:57 He said: "All the earth's Mine; 12:58 You'll be My special people. " 13:00 So God wants to enter into this covenant with you tonight 13:04 in a very special way. 13:07 Listen to some of the things that He says. 13:29 So God is saying to you 13:31 "If you'll enter into a covenant with Me, 13:34 then I will put My law in your heart. 13:39 I'll write it on your mind. 13:42 You will be My people 13:45 and I will be your God. " 13:49 That's what He promises to all of you here tonight... 13:51 to each one of us. 14:03 That is the covenant He wants. 14:05 "Walk in all the ways that I have commanded you 14:09 and it will be... " Come on... 14:12 "It will be well with you. " 14:16 Now folks, this book has not failed. 14:20 I mean, it has stood the test of time... 14:23 it hasn't failed. 14:24 So if God says: "If you'll do this, 14:27 it will be well with you, " 14:30 then is it going to be well with you? 14:32 You better believe it is. 14:34 God makes that promise. 14:35 He says: "Just do this... it will be well with you. " 14:53 So God wants to enter into a covenant with you tonight. 14:57 Now God has made some covenants, 15:00 and some of the covenants that He has made 15:03 were what we called everlasting covenants. 15:07 Everlasting covenants mean that they never end, right? 15:11 Never come to an end. 15:13 They're everlasting covenants. 15:16 One of the everlasting covenants that God made - 15:19 one you ought to remember - 15:22 was what? 15:26 Do you remember this one? 15:39 OK, let's see what the covenant is. 15:43 All right, Genesis 9:16: 16:03 God entered into a covenant with man. 16:05 He said: "Never again will the entire earth ever be 16:09 flooded with water. " 16:10 That's a covenant that God made. 16:12 Let me ask you something: 16:14 has God broken His covenant? 16:16 Never! 16:18 Every time you walk out there and you see a rainbow 16:20 that is a sign of God's covenant 16:23 that He is faithful... that He does not fail. 16:27 And that covenant is an everlasting covenant. 16:31 Never ends. 16:33 You with me? 16:35 OK. God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham. 16:50 He's making this covenant with Abraham... 16:53 that's who He's making it with. 17:00 So He said: "Abraham, I'm going to enter into an 17:02 everlasting covenant with you. " 17:09 So He said: "Abraham, 17:11 I'm going to be your God. 17:13 You are going to be My people. " 17:17 That's the covenant He made with Abraham. 17:20 He said: "I'll be your God; you're going to be My people. " 17:23 That covenant that God made with Abraham 17:26 is an everlasting covenant. 17:29 Listen to this... Deuteronomy 7 verse 9: 17:40 Says that God is faithful; God keeps His covenant... 17:52 So dear friends, the scripture says 17:55 that God is a covenant-keeping God. 17:58 Doesn't fail. 18:01 OK... everlasting. 18:03 To a thousand generations. 18:06 All right. 18:08 I Chronicles 16:15: "Remember His covenant... " how long? 18:36 So He made an everlasting covenant with them. 18:40 Now that being the case, 18:42 that God said: "Abraham, I'm going to make a covenant 18:45 with you and with your descendants. It will be 18:48 forever. " Then the question that you and I 18:51 have to ask ourselves tonight is 18:56 does that covenant include the Gentile 19:00 or is it just for the Jew? 19:04 Now folks, you've got to settle that in your heart 19:07 and in your soul. 19:09 Because if you do not settle that once and for all 19:13 you will never understand this book. 19:16 So you've got to settle it in your heart tonight. 19:20 Does that covenant that God made... 19:23 does that covenant include the Gentile 19:26 or was it made just to the Jewish people? 19:30 And if you don't settle it 19:33 then you will never fully understand the Word of God. 19:38 OK? So we need to look at some scripture here 19:41 and ask ourselves very clearly 19:43 does that covenant include the Gentile? 19:47 All right. 19:50 Moses... right down there 19:55 about ready to cross the Jordan River... 19:57 Moses is soon going to go up to Mount Nebo 20:01 where he will die. 20:02 He is repeating the covenant. 20:05 I want you to listen to what it says here: 20:14 Now here all the children of Israel are standing out there. 20:18 All they are, and Moses is saying: 20:20 "This covenant that God is making 20:22 He's not making it with you alone. " 20:25 Who else is there? 20:30 What Gentiles? 20:34 Are there Gentiles there? 20:36 Yes there is. 20:37 There's a lot of Egyptians that left the land of Egypt 20:40 with the children of Israel. 20:42 So he's saying: "I'm not just making this with you alone. " 20:45 Let's go on: 20:52 He said: "All of you that are standing out there... 20:55 Jew, Gentile... all of you that are standing out there. 20:59 I'm making this covenant with you 21:02 before the Lord our God... " 21:11 Does it include the Gentile? 21:14 Are you sure? 21:17 Well let's look at another scripture. 21:39 He said: "No, not just with you. 21:42 I am giving you as a light to the Gentiles... " 21:51 So that covenant does not include just the Jew... 21:55 it includes the Gentile as well. 21:58 Look at one more: 22:15 All right? 22:27 So it doesn't include just the Jew. 22:32 And you find when you move into the New Testament 22:34 it makes it very, very clear 22:37 that it included more than the Jew. 22:40 Galatians the 3rd chapter verse 14 says: 22:45 Now, God made an everlasting covenant with who? 22:48 Abraham. 22:56 So dear friend, tonight 22:58 I hope that you are 100% clear 23:01 that that covenant included you. 23:04 OK? 23:06 Now if that covenant included you, 23:09 then we need to take a good close look at it 23:12 and see what's involved in it. 23:14 That we might receive the promise of the Spirit 23:18 through faith. That He promises. That's part of the covenant. 23:22 OK. You see, the covenant 23:26 is so important to God 23:29 that He has a special place that He keeps it. 23:32 Did you know that? 23:34 I mean, it's not just something that God takes lightly. 23:38 God had a very special place that He kept the covenant. 23:42 And He made the covenant there with the Jewish people - 23:45 with Abraham and all of them - 23:46 and the scripture says this: 24:08 So the ark... the ark was the place where God 24:13 kept the covenant. 24:15 Put it in the ark, and it was kept in a special place 24:17 there because it was special to God. 24:20 But you remember, Nebuchadnezzar came down 24:24 and destroyed the temple. 24:27 And Jeremiah and some devout men took the ark and hid it. 24:31 Never been found to this day. 24:34 So what about the covenant now? 24:38 Is it just hidden in some cave 24:41 and God knows where it is but you and I don't? 24:45 No, the scripture doesn't leave you in any doubt. 24:48 Listen: 25:04 So the ark's there in heaven. 25:06 There's an ark there in heaven, and in that ark 25:10 is the covenant that God enters into with you. 25:13 Right there in heaven. 25:15 And there were lightnings, 25:17 and noises, and thunders, 25:19 and great earthquakes, and great hail. 25:22 So it talks about the ark up in heaven. 25:25 Now what we want to do now 25:26 is we want to take a look at what the New Testament 25:29 has to say about the covenant. 25:34 You see, you may not have realized it 25:37 but many of you when you go to church 25:40 you do something that when you do it 25:43 you may not have understood that you're actually 25:46 entering into a covenant with God. 25:48 You're actually entering into this covenant and saying: 25:51 "Lord, listen. I'll be your people; 25:53 You be my God. " 25:55 You know what you do when you do something at church? 25:59 Every time you celebrate the Lord's Supper 26:03 that's what you're doing is you're entering into 26:06 a covenant with God. 26:27 So when you celebrate the Lord's Supper 26:30 you're actually entering into a covenant with the Lord. 26:34 That's what you're doing. 26:36 You may not understand the ramifications of the covenant. 26:41 And I hope tonight that you will understand what's involved 26:45 in the covenant and what God wants you to understand. 26:49 Galatians... Galatians the 3rd chapter 26:54 verse 29... it says: 26:58 You understand that statement 27:00 "if you are Christ's? " 27:01 That means if you belong to the Lord. 27:03 That means if you've given your heart to Jesus Christ. 27:06 If you've accepted Him. That's what that's saying. 27:17 Hmmm. 27:19 So if you accept Jesus Christ, 27:22 you are what? 27:25 "Abraham's seed. " 27:28 Are you beginning to get the picture? 27:30 God made the covenant with Abraham. 27:33 He made an everlasting covenant. 27:35 And when you accept Jesus Christ 27:37 you become part of Abraham's seed 27:42 and therefore you become part of the covenant 27:45 that God made with Abraham. 27:47 OK? That's what happens. 27:50 That's what takes place. 27:51 You become an heir to the promise 27:55 because you are an heir of Abraham. 28:08 Can't do anything about that, can we? 28:11 That's the way we're born... 28:13 born a Gentile in the flesh. 28:16 So that's... that's nothing that you and I can do anything about. 28:19 But watch what God promises you here: 28:25 When you were a Gentile in the flesh 28:27 God says you, at that time... 28:30 were without Christ. 28:32 If there's any of you here tonight 28:34 who do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, 28:37 then you are without Christ. 28:40 OK? You are a Gentile in the flesh. 28:44 That's what the scripture says. 28:45 All right. 28:50 You're not connected to Israel. 28:53 You're an alien. 28:54 You're separated from Israel 28:56 because you don't know Jesus Christ. 29:06 But oh, when you accept Jesus Christ, 29:10 ah, you become... you become a seed of Abraham. 29:16 You become an heir to the promise. 29:18 You become part of the covenant that God made. 29:22 That's what you become. 29:23 All right. So that promise was given to you, dear friend, 29:27 just as much as it was given to the Jew. 29:31 Now the question I've got to ask you tonight: 29:34 why do we need a new covenant? 29:39 Was there something wrong with the old covenant? 29:44 And if there was nothing wrong with the old covenant, 29:46 then why did they have a new covenant? 29:50 See? Why does the scripture - New Testament - 29:53 talk about a new covenant? 29:54 Was there something wrong with the old one? 29:57 And if there's something wrong with the old one, 29:59 what was wrong with it? 30:01 Well, let's take a look. 30:03 Let's see where the problem is. 30:06 Exodus 24 verse 7... speaking of Moses it says: 30:17 Moses came down out of the mountain, 30:19 took the Book of the Covenant, 30:22 and read it to the people. All right? 30:24 And they said: 30:31 Good response or bad response? 30:36 You don't know, huh? 30:38 Good response or bad response? 30:41 Good response... 30:43 good response. 30:45 Not anything wrong with that. They said: 30:46 "All that the Lord has said we will do and be obedient. " 30:50 That was a good response. 30:52 OK? That was not where the problem was. 30:56 Remember that a covenant... a covenant is an agreement... 31:06 That's what they did. 31:08 They said: "All that the Lord has said 31:12 we will do and be obedient. " 31:16 Not anything wrong with that in any way. 31:19 That was a good... OK. 31:21 Now the question is: 31:29 You understand what I mean by that? 31:32 Was there something wrong with what was written down? 31:37 The conditions of it, see? 31:39 These... the things that were written down in God's covenant - 31:42 was there something wrong with that? 31:44 Or where was the problem? 31:46 If there was something wrong, where was the problem? 31:50 Well let's see if we can find out where the problem was. 31:52 Hebrews 8 verse 7: 32:02 So the Bible says very clearly 32:04 if there wasn't something wrong with the first one 32:07 then there would have been no reason for the second. 32:09 So there must be something wrong with the first one. 32:12 The question you have to settle 32:14 in your heart tonight 32:15 is the problem with the first 32:17 covenant concerning what was written down? 32:20 The conditions of it. 32:22 Well let's see if the scripture tells us where the problem is. 32:32 The problem was not in what was written down, 32:36 the problem was with the people. 32:40 Not anything wrong with what was written down. 32:43 The problem was with the people. 32:45 They said: "All that the Lord has said, we will do. " 32:49 This is what they did. 32:56 They did not do what they said, 32:59 and God said: "therefore, I will not honor them 33:03 because they didn't do what they said they would do. " 33:05 So the problem was not in the conditions, 33:08 the problem was with the people. 33:11 What did they do? 33:12 They took the old covenant and they turned it into 33:17 obedience by works. 33:20 And they said: "If you do 33:24 this, this, this, and this, 33:26 you're going to get into heaven. " 33:28 And they made it totally and completely 33:33 a matter of works. 33:35 That's what they believed. 33:37 That's what they thought. 33:40 Are you acquainted with this woman? 33:43 Her name is Dr. Laura. 33:46 You hear her on the radio. 33:47 Huh? Acquainted with her? 33:49 You understand that she's a Jew? 33:52 OK. She wrote a book called The Ten Commandments. 33:57 I read the book. Very good book... 34:00 very excellent book on morals. 34:03 In the book she says this... and she gives a definition 34:07 of Christianity. 34:10 One of the clearest definitions I have ever read. 34:13 I want you to listen to it carefully: 34:25 That's beautiful, folks. That's exactly what Jesus does 34:29 for you... what He does for me. 34:32 I accept Jesus Christ and He comes in 34:36 and begins to change my life 34:39 and to change the tendencies and to change the way I live. 34:42 Listen: 34:55 So you and I... by faith we reach out 34:59 and we accept Jesus Christ. 35:01 And as we accept Him, we turn our life over to Him 35:03 and He comes in and He begins to do His work in our life 35:07 and change us. 35:08 That's what the Christian believes. 35:11 This is what she believes. 35:23 That is salvation by works. 35:27 Great, great difference than what Jesus taught. 35:33 He taught that salvation was by grace. 35:35 Salvation was by looking to Him. 35:38 Salvation did not come in one's ability. 35:42 OK... that's what the Jewish people did: 35:46 they took that covenant and they turned that into a covenant 35:49 of works. Now, the scripture simply tells us this: 36:01 "Jesus Christ has obtained a more excellent ministry... " 36:17 Hmmm. Established on better promises? 36:21 Let me ask you: 36:23 are your promises better than the Jewish people? 36:29 Uh, you got more backbone than the Jewish people? 36:33 You... you got more willpower than the Jewish people? 36:37 Huh? Are your promises better than the Jewish people? 36:41 Well if your promises aren't any better than the Jewish people, 36:46 then how can He make it on better promises? 36:52 Well you see, the first covenant - 36:55 the old covenant - was simply between God and the people. 37:00 Moses came down and read it, and they said: 37:02 "All that the Lord has said we will do and be obedient. " 37:05 But they weren't. 37:07 The new covenant is not between God and the people. 37:12 The new covenant is between God and Jesus Christ. 37:15 That's why it's on much, much better promises... 37:20 because it is between God and Jesus. 37:25 That's what makes it much better. 37:27 And so when you and I come to Jesus Christ 37:30 and we accept him, ah, dear friend, 37:33 THEN He begins to do His work in our hearts. 37:37 Watch... because it says here in Hebrews 9 verse 15: 37:50 OK, what is He saying? 37:52 He's saying: "Listen, this new covenant, I have sealed it 37:56 with My death. " 37:58 You see, it required blood. 38:01 And so He died... paid the price. 38:04 He sealed that covenant forever by His death. 38:20 So He said: "Listen, I'm going to give you this promise 38:22 because I died. " 38:32 Jesus Christ said: "I'm making this covenant with you 38:35 and I'm going to come down and I'm going to pay the price 38:38 for each one of you here tonight. " 38:40 And that He did for every last one of you here. 38:43 But that wasn't enough! 38:46 That wasn't enough, friends. 38:48 If all that was necessary to save you 38:52 was for Jesus to die, 38:57 He could have died as a baby 38:59 and gone back to heaven. 39:01 He wouldn't have had to stick around for thirty years. 39:06 Why? Because the covenant required something else. 39:24 God says: "Hang on. " 39:34 He is our High Priest. 39:35 He can sympathize with our weaknesses 39:38 because He came here and He lived on this earth 39:41 just like you and I. 39:43 OK? Lived here. 39:55 Came down here and He lived an absolute perfect life 39:59 because the covenant says: "If you obey Me and follow Me. " 40:04 And Jesus said: "I'll live a perfect life for you. " 40:09 So He died and He lived a perfect life for you and me. 40:14 Therefore He says to you: 40:16 "Because I did that for you, let us therefore come boldly 40:20 to the throne of grace... " 40:30 Now, I want you to understand some of the conditions 40:35 of the covenant here. 40:37 What I'm sharing with you right now, dear friend, 40:39 as far as I'm concerned is the most important 40:42 part of the whole covenant. 40:45 You have to listen carefully or you'll miss it. 40:48 Many times if you're reading if you don't read slowly 40:51 and you don't read carefully, you miss some of the great 40:54 great promises of God's Word. 40:56 So listen carefully... Hebrews 13 verse 20: 41:12 So it's talking about the everlasting covenant. 41:22 Now folks, if you don't watch carefully you miss it. 41:26 It says: "Make you complete. " 41:29 Who makes you complete? 41:31 Jesus Christ. 41:33 You see we miss that many times. 41:35 We think that's OUR job is to make ourselves complete. 41:39 No! That's God's job. 41:41 Your responsibility and mine is to turn your life over to Hlm 41:45 and let Him do His work in your life. 41:47 And HE will make you complete to do His will. 41:51 He promises that! 41:52 And I don't care who you are... 41:54 I don't care what you've done, 41:56 I don't care what your situation is, 41:58 if you get up every morning and you commit your life 42:01 to Jesus Christ, He WILL do His work in your life. 42:05 Change it... make it different for you. 42:10 This is what He's going to do... listen: 42:16 He'll work in your life and He'll change it... 42:19 He'll make it different. 42:25 That is the promise. 42:27 And dear friends, when you enter into that kind of relationship 42:30 with Jesus Christ, you no longer have 42:33 obedience by works. 42:38 You no longer have that, 42:40 you have something completely different. 42:55 Who does the putting? 42:58 Jesus Christ! 43:00 He said: "I'll put My law in your mind. 43:02 I'll write it on your heart. " 43:07 That, dear friend, is obedience by faith. 43:12 See? Totally and completely different 43:15 than obedience by works. 43:17 It's when I turn my life over and by faith 43:20 I cling to the Lord Jesus Christ 43:22 He does His work in my life 43:24 and that changes it and makes it different. 43:27 That is a joyous occasion. 43:30 That's a joyous work because the Lord is doing it 43:33 and He changes my life. 43:35 This idea that we have of struggling and fighting 43:38 all the time is why so many people 43:41 go around with long faces. 43:43 Because their Christian 43:45 experience is not happy. 43:47 See? Because they never have 43:48 found the joy there is in Jesus Christ. 43:51 Now God has a covenant. 43:55 That covenant... He has a sign of the covenant. 44:00 Always has a sign of the covenant. 44:03 He made an everlasting covenant with you and me. 44:06 That was the rainbow. 44:09 So when you see the rainbow 44:11 you know the earth's never going to be flooded. 44:13 In order for that sign to be right, 44:16 it has to fulfill certain requirements. 44:19 One, in order for that sign to be right, 44:22 it has to be universal. 44:24 If - you know - if you only saw rainbows in the United States 44:28 that wouldn't be very good, would it? 44:29 I mean it's got to be universal; it's got to be everywhere. 44:32 Secondly, not only does it have to be universal, 44:34 it has to be tangible. It has to be something you can see, 44:36 feel, taste. You've got to be able to know that it's there. 44:40 It's got to be tangible. 44:41 Thirdly, it has to be well defined. 44:44 And the rainbow is very well defined, right? 44:47 Don't have any trouble. When you see it you know it. 44:49 Four, it has to be incorruptible. 44:52 You can't corrupt it. 44:54 No way, I don't care how long you look for the end of the 44:57 rainbow, you can't corrupt it. You can't steal the gold. 45:00 OK. And it has to be personal. 45:03 OK. Those are things that have to be in a sign 45:08 of a covenant. Now God has an everlasting covenant - 45:12 right? - that He made with Abraham. 45:15 OK. Do you know what the sign is? 45:21 God made a sign... gave a sign. Just the same as the rainbow, 45:25 He gave a sign of that everlasting covenant. 45:27 Let's see if we can find out what it is. 45:44 Listen, I'm going to read you several texts. 45:45 Watch, it makes it crystal clear 45:47 that the Sabbath is the sign of God's covenant with you. 45:51 That's what it is. 46:06 So He said: "This is a sign that I have given them 46:08 of My covenant. " 46:20 So He says: "I have given the Sabbath. 46:23 That is a sign of My covenant. " 46:42 OK, if the Sabbath is God's sign 46:47 of the covenant that He made with Abraham, 46:50 then does it fulfill all the requirements? 46:54 Got to ask ourselves that. 46:56 "It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever. " 47:08 So, the question I have is: 47:14 Well, let's see if it does. 47:17 Well, to begin with, is it universal? 47:20 Sure. Any place you go in the world. 47:24 It's universal. 47:25 All right. Secondly, is it tangible? 47:29 Huh? Absolutely! It's a piece of time. 47:33 It is tangible. 47:34 OK. Very much a piece of time. 47:37 Thirdly, is it well defined? 47:41 Hmmm? 47:43 Oh, very well defined indeed. 47:46 For you remember... God made it very clear 47:49 that the Sabbath began at sunset 47:55 and goes to sunset. He defined it... absolutely. 48:00 So no question... it is well defined. 48:04 Take a look at it. 48:05 So when we take a look at it we found that the Sabbath 48:08 is 1... it's universal. 48:11 It's tangible. 48:13 It's well defined. 48:16 OK, let's go on. 48:19 Is it incorruptible? 48:21 Absolutely. You may not keep it but you can't corrupt it. 48:24 Incorruptible. 48:28 And 5... is it personal? 48:31 So it fits all the criteria of a sign... 48:34 the Sabbath does. 48:36 All right. So, my question is then... 48:39 is simply this one which you've got to settle in your heart. 48:42 The question that you have to settle is: 48:50 Now you understand what you're saying. 48:52 See, you've already told me 48:54 that that covenant included the Gentile. 48:58 And if the covenant included the Gentile 49:00 and the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant, 49:04 then does it include the Gentile? 49:07 Absolutely. But let's look at some scripture 49:09 and see if the Bible says that it's for the Gentile 49:12 as well as for the Jew. 49:39 Listen carefully, friends. 49:53 Therefore, does it include the Gentile? Yes! 49:57 Did it include the Gentile in the New Testament? 50:01 Was it involved there? Listen very carefully... 50:03 Paul is preaching. As he preaches, Paul says 50:23 Now listen carefully: 50:33 They heard about it and they said: "Praise God! 50:36 We're included! " 50:38 See? "We're included. " 50:46 Paul and his companions... they've made their way 50:49 over to Macedonia. 50:52 That's Europe. 50:53 There at that time in history 50:55 the Jewish people had not settled much into Europe. 50:58 They've made their way up to the city of Philippi. 51:02 They're there for a number of days. The Sabbath comes. 51:05 Let's see what happens here in Acts the 16th chapter 51:08 verse 12: 51:18 OK. No Jewish synagogue here. 51:33 They heard about these women that were meeting 51:35 out by the river. They went out and worshiped with them. 51:37 This is where Lydia was converted. 51:40 So definitely the Gentiles are keeping the Sabbath. 51:44 Listen... Acts 17 verse 2: 51:56 Who's he reasoning with? 52:05 Not just Jews; it included more than that. 52:09 In the marketplace daily 52:11 with those who happened to be there. 52:13 So dear friend, yes 52:16 the Sabbath was involved not just with the Jew 52:20 but with the Gentile as well. 52:29 So put it down. 52:31 God has never changed it. 52:35 It will never be changed. 52:37 If Jesus was going to change it, 52:39 He had to do it before He died. 52:42 And you'll find that He said very clearly 52:44 that He was Lord of the Sabbath. 52:47 It even tells you that the Sabbath will be kept in heaven. 52:51 Listen: 53:19 Hmmm? 53:20 Because it is a sign 53:25 of an everlasting perpetual covenant. 54:10 Do you know what language Jesus Christ spoke? 54:15 Do you know? 54:17 Aramaic. 54:19 I'm going to read you a text from the Aramaic 54:22 translated into English. 54:24 Comes from Hebrews the 4th chapter verse 9. 54:28 This is what it says: 54:37 That's the way it reads in Aramaic. 54:39 "It is the duty of the people of God 54:42 to keep the Sabbath. " 54:43 Now, Jesus wants to enter into a covenant with you. 54:48 A covenant is about a relationship. 54:51 Jesus had a very close relationship with His Father. 54:54 And you remember as He prayed there in the Garden 54:58 of Gethsemane He said: 55:09 Now folks, He's talking to His Father 55:12 and He's talking to His Father in very familiar terms. 55:16 That's the reason the scripture translates that 55:18 word "Abba"... because we do not have a word 55:22 in English that expresses the intimacy 55:26 that that word "Abba" does. 55:28 The closest word we have in English 55:30 for that word "Abba" is Daddy. 55:34 That's the closest word we have. 55:35 So He's appealing to His Father here 55:38 in very intimate terms: "Abba Father. " 55:41 OK. It means a very, very close relationship. 55:48 That's what it means. That's what it stands for. 55:50 A covenant... it says that when God enters into a covenant 55:54 that's a sign of a relationship between you and God. 55:58 And it says that He comes in and He writes it in your heart 56:01 and puts it where? In your mind. OK. 56:05 The scripture says that He's going to write His name 56:09 in your mind... on your forehead. 56:11 That He's going to put His law in your mind. 56:14 You know how He does that? 56:16 Huh? Do you know how He does that? 56:20 This is how He does it, friends: 56:27 That's what's there. 56:30 See, it has His name right in the very heart of it. 56:34 And so that Sabbath represents... 56:36 He said: "Listen, that's My covenant with you. 56:38 That's the sign of this relationship 56:40 that I have with you. " 57:00 God wants to enter into a covenant with you tonight. 57:03 He wants to write His law... 57:06 put it in your heart and write it on your mind. 57:14 Abba, Father, 57:19 let me be 57:24 Yours... 57:26 and Yours alone. 57:34 May my life 57:39 forever be 57:44 evermore 57:50 Your own. 57:57 Let us bow our heads for a word of prayer. 58:00 Heavenly Father, tonight 58:01 we thank you for what Jesus Christ has done 58:04 for each of us here this evening. 58:06 For this we pray in Your name, Amen. 58:13 To obtain a copy of this program or for more information, 58:16 please write to: |
Revised 2014-12-17