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If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Hebrews and chapter 8. And just to let you know in advance, this is not going to be an easy sermon in a sense. The text before us does require some thinking and engaging, and so I urge your attention to follow the chapter today.

The book of Hebrews is really about Jesus, how Jesus is greater, greater than anyone that has come before Him and indeed will come after Him. He's greater that the angels, greater than Moses, greater than Joshua, greater than Aaron. He represents a priesthood that is far superior than the Aaronic priesthood. And in chapter 8, the author continues to reinforce this idea and this teaching. He says,

(Hebrews 8:6 ESV)
But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.

Jesus is a superior priest to the priest of Aaron's order. Why? One of the reasons is because His ministry is better. You say, why is His ministry better? Because His covenant is better. Now, this is where I stop and want to pause and want to say to you, we are going to study today the Word and the idea of the Covenant. What is it all about? And I think this is a passage where spiritual vegetarians will have to watch out. You say, what spiritual vegetarians? Well, because we are coming to the meat of the Bible, the “bak bak” (colloquial for meat) you know bak, the meaty, the tough, but the rich part of Scripture. We are going to look at the idea of the covenant, but just before you switch off and say, ‘Pastor,  I'm not the “chim” (colloquial for intellectual) type lah, please spare me, I  don't want to learn about this." Just before you switch off, I want to share with you what Spurgeon said about covenant and understanding what it means. He says,


The doctrine of the divine covenant lies at the root of all true theology. It has been said that he who well understands the distinction between the covenant of works and the covenant of grace is a master of divinity.
[CH Spurgeon]


So look at the first sentence. He says, the doctrine of the divine covenant lies at the root of all true theology. It is vital that the people of God understand what the covenant entails. In fact, he goes on to say,
“I am persuaded that most of the mistakes which men make concerning the doctrines of Scripture are based upon fundamental errors with regard to the covenants of law and of grace. [CH Spurgeon]


If you don't understand covenant, you don't understand the covenant of law and you don't understand the covenant of grace, that's why you will have a lot of errors in your Christian life. So, Jesus is the mediator far superior than that of Aaron's, because He has a superior covenant and we are going to look today at this new covenant.

So it's chim, it's chim, alright, but I think it will be helpful and fruitful at the end of the day. So just want to urge your attention right now. So let's look at this, what is the new covenant? You must be wondering what is this all about, and probably most of us will be even thinking, what is a covenant?

I mean in Singapore, we don't use this quite a lot. We use contract, we say a deal, we use these words, but covenant, what does it mean? In its very basic meaning, it simply refers to an agreement between two parties. A covenant is an agreement between two parties, not very difficult here. In fact, it is very simple if you understand, a covenant can be in a marriage. A marriage is a covenant relationship where a man and a woman pledges himself or herself to each other and says, "I will hold you and cherish you, till death do us part." It's an agreement. It's a covenant between a man and a woman.

But the covenant we're talking about here is between God and man, and the Bible gives us some examples of covenants, of agreements between these two parties. For example, (picture shown of a rainbow in the sky) this reminds you of? Noah's ark. Well, it refers to the time during Noah and this is what they called the Noahic covenant, a covenant between God and man during Noah's time.

In Genesis 9, it is said, “then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” (Genesis 9:8-11 ESV)

then God said to Noah and his sons with him, behold, I establish my covenant, my agreement with you, “勾勾手指“[gou1 gou1 shou3 zhi3 － Chinese meaning make a promise]. Okay, you don't get it. Alright, anyway, with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock and every beast of the earth with you as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. So I make an agreement, a covenant with all you creatures. I establish my covenant with you that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.

Now this is therefore God's agreement. He will not in a sense destroy the earth with a universal flood anymore. Now this is not a covenant to say there will be no more flooding. Yesterday, Singapore got flooding, got ponding in some areas right? I saw some pictures of it. So this is not a promise that says no more flooding. This is a promise that says no more  universal flooding. So every time you drive and you look out of the window, and you see the beautiful rainbow, it is gorgeous. But it is also a reminder of God's agreement with men. It's a covenant.


(Picture shown of a night sky filled with stars)


This is another example. What covenant would this be? The Abrahamic covenant.  It's an agreement between God and Abraham. That's why it's Abrahamic covenant, and in this covenant, we see this in Genesis 12.

(Genesis 12:2-3 ESV)
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.


This is a tremendous agreement between God and Abraham. God agrees to bless Abraham. Unilaterally, I'll give you a land, I'll give you prosperity and I'll give you a seed, through whom all nations will be blessed. So this is a Abrahamic covenant.


(Picture shown of a king)


A third one, who is this? King David, the king who plays the harp. And King David here also has an agreement with God. Well, it will be better put God has an agreement with David because it is God who initiates it all.

God said in second Samuel chapter 7,

(2 Samuel 7:12-13 ESV)
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you,
who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.


when your days are fulfilled, when you die, you can't do anything already when you die, and you lie down with your fathers, I promise this is what I will do, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

So, God promises to establish an eternal kingdom through the line of David. This is the Davidic covenant.

So these are the various agreements, promises, relationships God has with people through the covenant. So once again, what is a covenant? It's simply an agreement between two parties.

But today we are going to look at this covenant between God and the nation of Israel and this picture would probably remind you what that original covenant entailed.
(Picture shown of Moses holding the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments)

It entailed the learning and obeying of the commandments. So we call this the Mosaic covenant.

Not difficult right? You have the Noahic, Abrahamic, you have the Davidic and okay Mosaic, the Mosaic covenant. And the Ten Commandments were given in the context of this Mosaic covenant. You see, God said in Exodus 19, the Ten Commandments are given in Exodus 20. In Exodus 19, this is the context. This is the background. This is why the Ten Commandments are given to Israel.


Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
(Exodus 19:5 ESV)

Now therefore, if you will indeed hear my voice and keep my covenant, my agreement with you, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine.

So God says, I have rescued you out of Egypt. Now if you will keep my covenant, you will be my people. But people of Israel, I don't think thought very long and they responded actually in Exodus 24,

(Exodus 24:3-4 ESV)
Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the rules. And all the people answered with one voice and said, All the words that the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD.


(Exodus 24:7-8 ESV)
Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. And they said, All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.”
And Moses took the blood and threw it on the people and said, Behold the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words.”


So the covenant was sealed with the shedding of blood. This will be significant later on in Hebrews. But the covenant is sealed between God and the nation of Israel. Israel says, "We will keep your Word." God says, "If you keep your word, you will be my people." What happened after that? Did Israel keep God's Word?

The sad story of Israel is that they repeatedly disobeyed God's Word. Started quite soon. Right after this, in Exodus 32, we read of the incident of the golden calf. God said, "Don't make any graven images nor bow down before them", but they repeatedly took their earrings, their gold, smelted it and fashioned a golden calf and says, "This is the god who brought us out of Egypt."

God's fierce wrath was kindled, and many died, but Israel continued, repeatedly. We call this “死性不改”［si3 xing4 bu4 gai4 － in Chinese means the nature of man just doesn't change.] They continued to rebel and you recall how God was furious with them when they refused to enter the Promised Land. They said, "No, the giants are to big; we are too small." And they refused to trust God and God's wrath was kindled.

Now between the golden calf and the wilderness crossing into the Promised Land, there are lots of other episodes. And it is, from this point of time, they continued to rebel against God to the time of Elijah. In the days of Elijah, many people, the vast majority, have forsaken the worship of Jehovah and they worshipped Baal, the false idol, and they still didn't learn.

And God now sends an army, a nation after them, allows them to be conquered, allows them to be captured, brought to Babylon, brought away to be cured of this idolatry, but deep in their hearts, they still would not obey, until the time of Jesus where the Jews would still crucify God's Son.

So the story of Israel is one of betrayal, one of presumption, one of saying "We will obey," but practically for thousands of years, they have never obeyed. So the old covenant, the Mosaic covenant, didn't kick in place because they never really obeyed. The Bible tells us,

(Hebrews 8:8 ESV)
For he finds fault with them when he says: Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel    and with the house of Judah,

for He finds fault with them. What do you mean? Is the covenant bad? No, the problem is not that covenant. The problem is them. He did not find fault with "it". It's find fault with "them". The people didn't do their part and because this didn't work, God says, "Behold, the days are coming when I will establish a new covenant."

The old ways of trying to earn favor with works doesn't work. So let me give you a brand-new agreement. The word "new" here, "kainos" in the Greek is new not just in terms of time, but new in terms of quality. So this is an entirely new agreement that will be drawn up and the reason why, again I want to emphasize, this has to be so is because they did not continue in my covenant, they didn't really obey. So, that’s why God says:
"Let me give you a new covenant that I will make with the house of Israel."

(Hebrews 8:9 ESV)
not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.


So what is this covenant? This is taken from Jeremiah 31 and at the height of Israel's betrayal against God. They refused to worship God. They have idols and at the peak of, as it were, the rebellion, God sends a word of mercy and grace through Jeremiah. This is the new agreement.


For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord:

(Hebrews 8:10-12 ESV)
I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”


Jeremiah 31. In this you see a remarkable change. The new covenant is now no more a covenant on tablets of stones, but on your heart, or in your hearts. This new covenant is where God promises to be everything to the people - to be their God, not just their help, not just their shelter, not just their guide, but their God, and no class of people will be excluded from the least to the greatest. And this is an amazing forgiveness that God offers. "I'll be merciful towards their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more."

Recently I did something boo-boo. I reversed my car into a pillar, long piak (colloquial for bang into the wall); we call this in Hokkien (Chinese dialect). So there's a dent in the corner of my rear bumper. My two sons were with me at that time and they were shocked and horrified. "What? What did you do, Daddy?" And I think for a period of time, they'll never forget what has happened - banging the car.

Now, I don't expect them to forget. But my youngest son, Matthias, he remembers this and he regularly brings it up to remind me, especially when I scold him, especially after I reprimand him for doing something wrong. And when we get out of the car, he walks to the back of the car and he says, "See Daddy, why you do this?" Wah lau, that.. he wants to get back at me, you see.  So in order to get back at me, he can't hit me, he will say, "Why you so silly!" And he brings it up against me.

Now God, when He says, "I will remember their iniquities no more", He's not saying, "I have amnesia and I totally forgot what you did." No, He's omniscient. He knows everything in all times. He is not bound by time. We are bound by time. Therefore, we forget, but not God. So when He says, "I'll remember your sins no more", it's not that He forgets but He will not bring it up against you, against me.

This is an amazing forgiveness. He lets it go and will not let it come between our relationships with Him. And this new covenant is therefore an agreement, a tremendous promise of blessing: I will change your heart; I will write my laws into you; I will be your God, and I will remember your sins no more. Wow!

What's so spectacular about this new covenant? I mean, this is the genius of God, by the way. The genius is that He gives an old covenant to show us up our weakness, our inability to keep His Word, and then He gives you the new covenant to show you how amazing His grace is.

So what is so amazing about this new covenant? Let me share with you a few characteristics.

Number one, this new covenant is unconditional. This is amazing grace. Most of the contract deals and agreements we make with people are conditional, even with your children, right? "I'll give you this present if you take, if you get 95 marks for your test." Conditional. For God, unconditional. The new covenant is about how God will unilaterally, sovereignly, unconditionally, write those laws into our hearts, be our God and be forgiving our sins. Tremendous.

So let's contrast this with the old covenant. The old covenant is about man saying, "I will keep." I could almost hear the pompous pride that says, "All these laws, no problem, we will keep them." But the story of the Bible and the story of our lives is, if anyone says, "I will earn God's favor by obedience, by saying I will," then we will realize that we actually break His Word over and over and over again.

Sin has so twisted and thwarted us that there is no ability for us to keep His Word consistently. But the marvel of the new covenant is when God steps in and say, "I will", and because it is God, He keeps His Word forever and ever.

This is the spectacular superiority of the new covenant. Or another way of looking at this is to say the old covenant is about saying, "If you do this, I will be your God." But the new covenant is not: "If you do." The new covenant is: "It is done, I've done it all, I've done it all in Jesus, My Son."

So, the new covenant is spectacular, it is stunning, it is unbelievable to a certain degree, that God should be so gracious to attach no conditions, but freely and sovereignly change my life, not because I'm good, not because I can obey, not because I'll be of any benefit in a sense that He needs, but simply because of His grace. The new covenant is therefore about God saying, "I will".

But secondly, the new covenant is stunning also because it is internal, not external. The old covenant is external, it's all about the laws outside the life, but the new covenant is about the law written in the hearts and in Ezekiel,

(Ezekiel 36:26-27 ESV)
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.
And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you
a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you,
and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.


we are told not only is there a writing on the heart, there is actually a total change of heart. And I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I'll put within you, and I will remove the heart of stone. You know why people who can never come to God until God sovereignly does this? Because your heart is a heart of stone, you are dead in sin, you will not respond to God. From your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my voice.

Similarly, in the New Testament, Paul alludes to that in Second Corinthians 3 when he says,


And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts…… God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit.
(2 Corinthians 3:3-6 ESV)


God has written in our lives, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts and this is part of the ministry of the new covenant. So, a new covenant is about the heart.

(Picture shown of x-ray of the heart in man)


Actually, this picture is also not accurate because it's not about the physical heart. It's about the soul, the spiritual life of a person. But I guess it reminds you, it is about your heart. And because it is about your heart, a man who has been blessed by this new covenant will manifest new desires.

(Psalm 1:1-2 ESV)
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

He's not just on your iPhone or Bible that you carry outside, it's on your heart. So you have a desire now to delight in the Law of the Lord, Psalm 1. Psalm 1 is describing someone who has experienced this change of heart. He now delights in the Law of the Lord,

(Psalm 119:97 ESV)
Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.

and he loves the Law. He is not just going to read it because he's forced to. He reads it because he wants to. He obeys it not just because he wants to earn favor with God, he obeys it because he loves it. A heart transplant has taken place, in accordance to the new covenant by our Great Surgeon, our God Himself. So now you have an entirely new heart to seek after Him.


It (the new covenant) sovereignly overcomes our rebellion and resistance and frees us to delight in God and in the will of God written on our hearts. [John Piper]


Piper says, the new covenant, this agreement, is about how God sovereignly overcomes our rebellion and resistance. How? Take away the heart of stone, give you a heart of flesh, write the laws in this heart of flesh, puts His spirit within you, so that you may now delight in God and in the will of God written on your hearts. If God does not do this, no chance.

Blessing of the new covenant - it is unconditional; it is internal; I will write my law in their hearts.

But thirdly, if you contrast it with the old covenant, it is also effectual. The old covenant is powerless because it's outside. It does not give a man the ability to fulfill. But this is a powerful covenant in that it actually works. He says, "All shall know me." No doubt, no question. Because of this spiritual transformation of their heart, they will know Me and their sins will be remembered no more. This is a highly “pao jiak” (colloquial for guaranteed), guaranteed covenant.

(Ezekiel 36:25 ESV)
Ezekiel says, I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all
your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.


There's only one way you can be guaranteed forgiveness of sins, only one way - new covenant, God's grace. Man says, "I will" but he breaks God's Word over and over again. You know what you receive? Judgment, because you broke it. You failed, you deserve to be punished. But the new covenant says, "I will" and God will sovereignly do it. And if God is the one taking up the responsibility, it will always work.

So, if you follow the old covenant of earning favor with God by our own works, you face condemnation. But if you trust in God's sovereign gift, you receive reconciliation. The old and the new covenants are as vast apart as heaven and hell because it's about man versus God. That can't be more stark in its contrast.

So the new covenant is unconditional, it's internal, it's effectual and may I say lastly, it is eternal. The old covenant is temporal.  In fact, it is gone, it doesn't work anymore. The Jews do not worship like they used to anymore since the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. But the new covenant is that which stays forever.

(Jeremiah 32:40)
In Jeremiah 32, He says, I will make with them an everlasting covenant that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts that they may not turn from me.


I'll make with them an everlasting covenant that I will not turn away from doing good to them. So, if you consider these various points, it is astounding, as I look at this and compare and contrast, God's grace is so highlighted when we look at the old covenant, and man's sin and hopelessness is so highlighted when we look at the new covenant. And I believe this is God's methodology in glorifying Himself and drawing us to Him. See sin has created, has made us live such independent lives. We want distance from God, and don't even want any help from God. We think we can do it, but God's dispensation or God's dealings with man throughout history brings out the contrary.

So the new covenant is superior and that's what the author says. So now you can understand why Jesus represents a better priesthood, because the covenant, He operates within, is a better covenant. Aaron's covenant is conditional. Aaron's covenant that he operates in is external. It does not work and it's temporal. But Jesus', whoa, is unconditional. It's internal, it is effectual, it is eternal. It is predicated on better promises.

(Hebrews 8:6 ESV)
But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.
(Hebrews 8:13 ESV)
In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete.
And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

And therefore, in speaking of the new covenant, because this superior one has come, the real deal has come. The old is now obsolete and what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.


Of course, that came about in A.D. 70. But the Jews probably will be fighting. Hah! Who says Jesus has a better priesthood? Why do we even need a new priesthood? Who are you to say that there's a new covenant? The author says, "Look at Jeremiah 31!"  It is right there. Your prophets have said it. Bang! Case is closed. The old priesthood is drawing to a close with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.


But that's the old and new covenant for you, the agreement with the people of Israel. I want to be very precise here because many of you are sharp. You say, wah, but Pastor, you have been talking about this. Who is this new covenant for? Well, it's actually for Israel and for the house of Judah. I want to be honest, we want to be truthful and that's what we should do. And the Scripture says this is for Israel and for the house of Judah. So all of you say you have been listening for the past twenty minutes, and you've been talking about something for Israel and not for me?

Well, no, not really. This covenant is primarily for Israel, but God in His mercy has included the Gentiles in this age. This covenant is also for us today, Gentiles today because in 1 Corinthians 11 you read of this,

(1 Corinthians 11:25 ESV)
In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”


Paul speaking to the Corinthians, many of whom are Gentiles. Gentiles are people who are not Jews, that's all. Jews and non-Jews. The Corinthians, by and large, are non-Jews. Paul is an apostle to the Gentiles, to the non-Jews and Paul says, when you take the Lord's supper. In other words, he is encouraging them to do that; in the same way also He took the cup, after supper, saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood. So this new agreement with Israel is made effective with the shedding of blood of Jesus Christ, and this agreement is also what you can be reminded of, and you can indeed remind yourself, you are a partaker of.

So I want to be very clear, yes, it's for the Jews, but in this age of grace, it is also for you and I. In other words, the way God is going to deal with you is according to the new covenant as well. He reaches out to you unconditionally, He changes you internally, He creates this new life effectually and He is with you eternally.

So, you, you who are Chinese, you who are Malaysian, you who are Indian, we are not Jews, but this is for you. And of course, if you follow Romans, you will know that God says at this time, the original olive branch is broken off. The Jews are, in a sense, set aside for a season. The wild olive branch is grafted in; the Gentiles are being blessed. But there will come a time where the Jews will come back again in great numbers, coming to Jesus.

So all that is said to assure you this is for you.

(Galatians 3:28 ESV)
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.


In Christ, there is now no more Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for we are all one in Christ. God's grace has come upon all nations, just as what He has covenanted with Abraham.

So you and I, today is our first Sunday and we will soon partake of the Lord's Supper and when you take of the Lord's Supper, remember the words of Jesus, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. Significant for us to consider. So in a sense, for the past 25 minutes, I've shared with you the new covenant.

What does this mean for you and I then? It means this: if you're here today, there are two theoretical ways you can earn favor with God or you can have favor with God. One is you achieve it. The other is you receive it. One is where you say, "I will behave", the other, which says, "I will believe". It's a choice. To those who say, "I will do it, I will achieve it, I will behave correctly", the problem is that we will repeatedly break this covenant we make. We will never succeed because we are so rotten and depraved in sin. But to those who will say, "I believe, I receive", you are trusting that God keeps His word forever.

So though there are two theoretical ways, there really is only one feasible way, purely by the grace of God. One leads to condemnation, the other leads to reconciliation. You know why? That's why Jesus says prostitutes and sinners enter the kingdom before the religious leaders. Why? Because the religious leaders always think they could do it. The sinners, the publicans the prostitutes - they recognize their desperation and they rely on the grace of God. The hardest thing to break through is our self-righteousness. I say to you today, for you to come to know God, there is only one way - Jesus Christ, God's grace. You have to trust His Son paid it all.

This new covenant is not without a price. I mean, I know why people want or all of us instinctively say we need to obey, because we feel that you need to earn it. Someone's got to earn it; someone's got to pay for this salvation, right? So we feel we got to do it. And when we look at grace, you say, aiyah nobody pays, so unfair, cannot be the way.

But you see,

(Luke 22:20 ESV)
This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.


Jesus tells us this cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. There is a price that needs to be paid and that is the life of God's only Son, because if Jesus didn't pay the price and God just says, "Oh, I'm going to let you into heaven," that will be the greatest scandal for all eternity. God is such an unrighteous God; He closes one eye, He never deals with sin and He lets people in. This is not a righteous God. So Jesus had to die in order for God to be righteous in forgiving us. Someone's got to pay and if we can't pay it, Jesus paid it all.

So this is the new covenant of grace. It's stunning when it says it's all about God and when we can't do it and when we don't deserve it, Jesus paid it all. And the message of the Bible is this: if you're here today, Jesus paid for your sins. Stop trying to earn your way to heaven – you will never do it - humble yourself today, bow at the feet of the Lord, cry out for mercy, and ask Him to have mercy to save you, to change your heart, to cleanse you and to forgive you. This is the only way.

Another application I want to share is: how do you know you're a Christian today? How do you know? You know, I say this so many times, but I just want to say it again because it's so important: So many of us think that I am a Christian because I come to church, I'm a Christian because I have grown up in church, I'm a Christian because in my phone app there is a Bible app and anytime I have the Bible with me. Do you realize all these things are external? How do you know if you're a Christian? How do you know you're saved? How do you know you truly have a relationship with God?

(Jeremiah 31:31-34 ESV)
I will write my law on their hearts and minds.


Well, you will have this: you will have God's laws written in your hearts and in your minds; you will have a delight and the desire for God and the Scriptures; you're not just a church-goer; you're not just someone who routinely reads the Bible; you're not just someone who is used to church activities; you genuinely desire His Word; you love God and you want to obey and it will be manifested in a life of obedience, not perfectly, not sinless perfection but sincere progression. There will be more and more and more of obedience in your life. That's how you know. No need to play games. Why do you want to play games? Why you want to pretend to be a Christian or imagine, presume, to be a Christian, and then on the Day of Judgment, know for sure that there was never an internal change in your heart? Why? Why would you want to be like those described in Matthew 7, who says, "Lord, Lord, didn't I do these things?" and you hear the voice of God saying, "I never knew you."

What's my point? My point is this: if there never was a change in your heart, Christianity to you is just a club, it's just an activity, it's just something that you come for once a week, but today, you realize you desperately need to be saved, today is the day of salvation if you will repent and believe and cry out to God for mercy, today, may be the day you may come to Him. And I say this with all seriousness and I beg you to consider this for your own soul. It's for you, not for me, it's for you. Do you really have this new heart? Because this is the new covenant.

I want to say also thirdly, this new covenant teaches me about my Father, my God. You know, so often we everything about God as the harsh, strict, severe God. And we think about Jesus as the kind, gentle “chin chai” (colloquial for easy-going) God. So anytime I have a prayer request, I don't dare to pray to God, I pray to Jesus, dear Jesus. Now, I'm not saying it's wrong to pray to Jesus, don't get me wrong, but if your prayer to Jesus is because you have this idea that God is harsh, God is difficult, God is very fierce, then, I want to encourage you to consider how deep is the Father's love for us, because this new covenant is spoken as God the Father speaking to us. The Son has to execute the plan. But do you know something? It is the Father's love that gives this new covenant and sends His Son to die.

The new covenant breathes the love of God. Behind this agreement is the person who enacted this. And this agreement is all about love, don't you see? I will do this, I will forgive you, I'll write My laws. I would draw you back. I will send My Son, I'll give My Spirit within you, I'll cleanse you, I'll sprinkle you, I'll do all this for you because I love you. This is the Father's love. And sometimes it doesn't look like God loves us. I mean, Israel and Judah were sent to Babylon to suffer, but I just want to focus here, I have no time to really read through all this, but look at this.

(Jeremiah 32:36-42 ESV)
I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul. 'For thus says the LORD: Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them.



Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promised them: God is always still working for good. Sometimes good doesn't appear in a package called "Nice". Sometimes good can come in a package called "Pain", but it is still good. All things work together for good to them that love God. I know some of you in this church have been struck a blow in life, diagnosed with a seemingly incurable disease, got cancer, family is breaking up, children is leaving you, your wife is leaving you, your husband is leaving you, and you ask yourself, you ask God, "Where are You, where are You? Didn't you promise good? Didn't you say that all things will work together for good?"

I tell you, it is still good. It's painful, but for every ten things, you know, God is doing a million other things that you don't understand. But one day, it will all be clear, but this agreement of God tells me of His unshakeable love for me. God keeps His covenant with Noah. You can be sure about that. God keeps His promise with Abraham. You can be sure about that. God keeps His promise and agreement with David, and God keeps His covenant and promise with Israel and with the church. This is your Father's love.


Let's bow for a word of prayer together. This morning we marvel and we rejoice in the sovereign mercy of God. You know what that means? That means God is all-powerful and God is all-good. All His power is channeled for your good. I know that because He has enacted this covenant written in the Scriptures, in which God cannot lie. This covenant is written in our hearts in which we have experienced the new life.

What changed you, folks? What made you love His Word? What made you delight in God? Not you, because you had a heart of stone, but it was the wind of the Spirit that blew life into your soul and gave you a new heart, a new desire, and because you have experienced it, you know that God is to be trusted. And I want to say to you if you're going through pains and trials this morning; your Father is still looking out for you. It has never changed. He has not withdrawn Himself from you. In your deepest pains, they are disguised as sometimes for God's greatest work. Like Job and his friends, we don't always know, we can't always understand, we can't always get all the answers to the question of pain and suffering in life. But the ultimate answer is always sure, I love you, and I'm moving sovereignly for you.

This morning, do you have this new life? Could you say that you really have a desire for God and His Word? Oh, if you have, praise God for that. I pray you will rejoice right now in thanksgiving because you couldn't have got it and you didn't earn it, but He freely gave it. If you have that desire, praise God and ask God to flame that desire that you live more and more for Jesus. But, if you have not that desire, then don't play games with God. Humble yourself this morning and say, "I'm going to stop trying to say I will, but Lord, I will trust in Your I Will, I'm going to trust in Your Son who paid it. He did it, You did it." I pray this morning, it will be the day of your new life as you repent and believe.

If you are here, folks, new with us, you say, what is all this about? I tell you, it's all about your soul. It's about God crying out to you, "Come, son, come home. Sin has made you run from Me; sin has made you think that you could live without Me. But this is My promise to you. Look, look at the history of humanity, look at the history of mankind. They could never obey Me.  But now in My sovereign grace, I give you salvation in My Son. Would you come and believe?" Come sinner, come home, come to your Father, let Him, let Him cover you with His love.

Father we thank You today, there is a fountain that is filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and how sinners could plunge beneath that flood and lose all our guilty stains. I pray this morning; it will be a day of rejoicing and a day of salvation for many here. Spirit of God, work and call people powerfully to the Father this day. May Jesus be lifted up. We pray all this now in Jesus Name, Amen.

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