SPEAKER_00 0:00

God. You know what? I'm uh I'm not as young as I used to be. And uh when I had a class reunion a couple of years ago, and well, where's where's this one? Where's that one? Well, they're dead. And you go, um, you start thinking about well, how how can I, in the time that God gives me that's left, how can I make sure that um not only am I sharing the good news of Jesus, but that I'm helping um people who put up with me and listen to me to be able and equipped to uh share the good news of Jesus. And of course, uh you all know, and preachers around here know that it's it's part of our role to equip the saints. And in doing so, um you may remember a few weeks ago I uh kind of went on and on with you about the the gospel. Well, I'm gonna do it again today because uh first of all, it's all I got, uh right? What else do I have but the gospel? And then um in light of in light of uh a 70-year-old and a 12-year-old, just today we hear of uh not on this earth anymore. Um James uh said, Why why do you not even know what will happen tomorrow? What is your life, James writes? You're a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. So, you know, I'm I'm here for a while and then poof. So uh I'm just gonna be a piece of granite up at the Unity Cemetery one of these days, and that's all anybody will ever remember. But I'll I hope also that somebody will say, He told me about Jesus, or he told somebody who told me about Jesus, or he preached to somebody, or preached to somebody, or preached with somebody who told me uh about Jesus, and I'll be forever uh grateful and and celebrate that. So um I want to talk about the the new covenant today, especially as we come to the Lord's Supper today. And speaking of uh having been around a while, I uh started living part-time in Indianapolis in the fall of 74 when I went to college in at Butler on 46th Street in Indianapolis, and started noticing that uh bumper stickers were everywhere. And I've gotten so that I like to look at bumper stickers just to see what they say. And I'm also interested in license plates and I like to see what they say, and they they always put these letters and numbers, the vanity plates, and you try what are they trying to say, or what what what's their message here? And um bumper stickers uh are all over the uh the cities when you're going slow enough you can read them. And uh we we were privileged to live in Plainfield, uh which is a uh western suburb of Indy, and spent a lot of time in Indianapolis going to hospitals and stuff. Uh and there were bumper stickers all over the place uh while we lived for the two decades in Plainfield. And uh, you know, bumper stickers also talk about people's politics, but also they talk about their faith and their testimony. And uh some of them say something like, Well, I I'm not religious, uh, I'm a Christian. And I go, Yay, I like that. Um avoid religion, follow Jesus. I like that. Or after religion, try Jesus. Are you picking on a theme here? Uh because I want you to pick up on a theme here. Another sticker said, reject religion, embrace Jesus. Or here's a rather long one. I was at a stoplight, so I could read this one. Uh, Jesus is the least religious person in history. And uh for about 90,000 miles, I had the joy and fun of driving a Mini Cooper around, mostly in the mountains of Utah. And um, when you drive a small car, you're really sensitive about how much fun it is, of course. But also you're also kind of watching the rearview mirror because there are those those big three-quarter ton pickups and those SUVs in Utah, we call them MAVs. That's a Mormon assault vehicle. Because they're they're there are these these uh these gentlemen uh and and the women with uh blonde blue-eyed women uh uh driving these MAVs, and and you just kind of fear for your life once in a while. And I saw on an on another Mini Cooper uh while I was driving around out there one day, it it was a little little thing around the license plate. It said, Do you follow Jesus this close? You know, with with all with all due respect for the grant the bad grammar there. But anyway, do you do you follow Jesus this close? It's a good question, and my hope is that you know someone who may not be following Jesus rather very closely. And uh because of that, you should they should uh maybe hear from you, oh, I don't know, this afternoon. Because you'll you'll be, I hope you hope you'll be equipped. Because Jesus didn't come to start a new religion, he came to start a relationship and enhance the relationship that men and women can have with God. Uh Jesus came uh to end religion as it was known at the time and to enable us to embrace a new covenant, a new relationship, uh and a new interaction with our Creator, with our God. Religion as it's known, and you you'll already pick up that I'm not talking about religion in a necessarily positive or religiosity in a kind of a positive way today, but religion in the world has at least two components. One of the one component of religion is that it declares that there is an ultimate power, that there is someone, something out there or around here that's greater than everyone else. And it's an ultimate reality, it's a transcendent authority. Uh almost all religious systems uh talk about that. That's one component. The second component is that we humans aren't there. And we we cannot be there unless we do A, B, C, and D, and sometimes X, Y, Z. And as a second, as a part B of that second component that we're not there, the the idea is that there's this huge gap or this huge chasm between humankind and God. It's not not unlike the story of a rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16, where there's this great chasm fixed between us, and and the rich man's crying out uh to somehow get the message back uh to his kin and kindred now that he's uh not there. So religious diversity has is that how we how we navigate that, how we deal with that gap. And all the religious practices out there and all the systems that are around the world, and sometimes here in our own land, uh talk about uh how to uh bridge that gap or how to span that gap. Uh sometimes it's through good works or being a good soul, uh, to be uh work working of your mind, uh engaging in sharing and giving of sacrifices, uh pouring out oblations, uh following moral codes, saying words, saying phrases, saying speech making speeches, uh saying prayers and so on. But every group in the world, whether ancient or modern, do this and engage in this by offering that, uh, experiencing these things, doing these things, and somehow, if you do those things, you will span the gap, you will be able to bridge the gap between this ultimate reality of God uh and humankind. And so that's what the religious uh providence is going on around the world even this day. But then I read the Bible and I read John 14, 6. You got it? Can you quote can you call it back to me? No, that's that's in 14 also. Jesus says, I am the way, the truth. Got it? Write it down somewhere. John 14 6, doggone it, memorize that passage this afternoon, Cottonwood, okay? Don't be bashful. I I know I I'm scared to death of you, so I understand you might be scared of me and not willing to say that out loud because you know it. Jesus said, I am the way, I am the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me. Jesus said, I am the God who at all cost to myself, I am the God who at all price to myself, surmounted every wall, climbed every mountain, crossed every chasm and gap, and paid every price and spilled my blood for you, so that you could come to God and be near to God. Religion is irrelevant. Jesus ended it. And Jesus is the ultimate reality, and he is the bridge astride the gap that is between that ultimate reality, Almighty God, and us. Who could build a bridge better than God? Who in the world? Who in the universe? Who in all creation could build a bridge better than God? Let's look at Hebrews chapter 10, or Hebrews chapter 8, beginning in verse 1. The writer of Hebrews says, Now, the main point of what we are saying is this we do have such a high priest who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven, and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle, set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being. And then let's jump down to verse 7 and go to verse 13. For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said, The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. Verse 10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord, and I will put my laws in their minds, write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor or say to one another, Know the Lord, because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness, and I will remember their sins no more. By calling this covenant new, he has made the first one obsolete. Hence the uh idea of the that religion is gone, and that it is obsolete and outdated and will soon disappear. The ancient Romans loved religion. They had their own religious practices, they did their things, but Romans also, when they conquered a people, when they conquered a land or a nation or a society, when they per they permitted them to practice their own religion and let them go on. They allowed all kinds of stuff to go on within the Roman Empire, and even though they were a conquered peoples, they let them do their thing, except Christianity. The Romans knew and came to understand that Christianity was better than many understand it today. And Christianity to the Romans represented a new thing and the end of religion. They even called Christians atheists so that they could persecute them even more harshly. But Christianity represented a brand new thing and an end to religion. I'd like to share with you a possible conversation that I came across between a Roman citizen and a Christ follower. The Roman says, Oh, you have a new religion. That's very interesting. Where is your temple? And the Christian says, There is no temple. Jesus is our temple. The Roman scratches his head and says, Well, where do your priests operate? for crying out loud. We don't need priests. Jesus is our priest. Well, where do you do your sacrifice stuff? Where do you do your offerings? Where do you go do things so God will accept you? And the Christian says, Jesus is our sacrifice. We are already accepted. And what kind of religion is this? The Christian says, Well, it's not a religion. It's not religion at all. The three um three the religion says what the gospel is, and we say Jesus is what the gospel is, and all everything about him. Uh you know, the religion says, do what we tell you, read the books we tell you to read, follow this other person, follow these people, and travel to this mountain, memorize these principles, and maybe you'll get there. Maybe you'll be able somehow to span the gap. Maybe you'll get there. But follow Christ's followers understand that He is the way, He is the truth, and He is the life, and we trust in Jesus and we seek Him first. And in seeking Him first, all these things will be added to us and bless us and enrich us and save us. God has accepted the cost. God has accepted you because the cost of admittance has been paid by the blood of Christ. Can I hear a witness to that? Amen. The covenant, this new covenant, is the what the Bible illustrates is a binding relationship. It's more delightful and more close and more powerful in this covenant because it's a covenant made by God and God's creation. God leads and blesses this formal covenant in Jesus Christ. The biblical covenant is a safe covenant. It's a secure covenant where you can be yourself, as weak as we may be, we can still be who we are, and we can live our lives and carry out Christ's life in us and live out Christ's life in us. God says, I'll carry out my end, even if you cannot. I can be vulnerable and secure all at the same time. The new covenant, as noted here in verse 12, I will forgive their wickedness and I will remember their sins no more. Verse 12, God says, I will forgive and I will remember your sins no more. The old covenant was a religious deal, kind of a business transactional thing. Uh with but the new covenant, God said, unconditionally, without a doubt, without hesitation, I will be what I always desired to be to you. I will be faithful, God says, even if you're not always faithful to me. To me, when I realized that, personally, when Johnny, Johnny Parsley, Garner's Ralph's boy, when I realized that, that was a difference maker for me. That God loves me in spite of myself. God loves me just because God loves me, because Christ died for me and rose on the third day for me. Jesus went to the cross to pay my penalty. Jesus went to the cross for pay to pay for the sins that I owe before God, and the penalty for that sin that I owe before God. Jesus went to and was crucified on the cross, as a verse 9 uh illustrates. It will not be like the covenant I made with our ancestors, because they didn't remain faithful to my covenant. And God says, I turned away from them. On Good Friday, it was it was that that terrible Good Friday as Jesus bore the sin of the world and mine and yours, God turned away. And the transaction was that my sin became Jesus' sin. My cost became Jesus' cost, and Jesus paid the price for my sin. God paid for my penalty, and I love my God for that. I love my God for that. I want to leave you today in thinking about the three ways that's noted here in this at the end of this passage in verses 10 through 12, uh, really quick. In three ways that you're in the new covenant. One is intimacy, that closeness, that friendliness, that awareness of mind and heart and soul of God and people in interaction. Verses 10 and 11, this covenant I will establish. I will put my laws in their minds and write them in their hearts, and I will be their God. And God says, They will be my people. There's that picture of intimacy and closeness with God's people and with one another. And then the other way that you're in the new covenant, you will know that you're in the new covenant, is that there's a sense of equality. In verse 11, he says, No longer will they teach their neighbor or say to one another, know the Lord, because they'll all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, from the least of them to the greatest. There's that picture in the Old Testament and the of the old temple, there were barriers everywhere. You know, the the outsiders, the foreigners were way outside on the outside of the temple, and then the women were outside, and then then the some men, and then some, and further, further in, there were more and more barriers all the way to the to the innermost parts of the temple, separation, uh distance between men and women and uh people groups and all of that. And Galatians 3 26 and 29 says, So in Christ you are all children of God through faith, for all of you have have been baptized into Christ and have clothed yourself with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus, and if you belong to Christ, there you are there you are Abraham's seed and heirs to the promise. So of the ways that we know that we're in the new covenant, there's that intimacy with God and you and me, that gap, that grand canyon that separated us between us and God has been closed through Jesus Christ. He is the bridge builder between you and between you and me and God. And in that intimacy of fellowship and equality of fellowship, there is thirdly a sense of community. I watched, I watched this congregation and I watched your sense of community, where God says in verse 10, I will be their God and they will be my people. That sense of community wherein we know one another, we care for one another, we laugh together, we cheer together, we celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, we rejoice in healings and wholeness restored to lives and families, and we also weep together when tragedy strikes. God wants to get personal. God wants to get personal with you. God wants to get personal with your family. God wants to get personal in relationship with those with whom you live and work and our neighbors. And God wants to do it now, and it may be you, it may be me, or it may be one of us here today who has an opportunity to share that good news of Jesus Christ with someone who may not have much time left. Be mindful, be ready to give an account for the hope that's within you with meekness and fear. In 1961, God inspired John W. Peterson with a song. And songwriters, gospel songwriters, and hymn writers have for centuries. By the way, that that a mighty fortress is our God, I think that's like 500 years old, kids. You just sang a song today that was 500 years old, and you thought you were old, you ain't got nothing. And as you sang that song, the lyrics speak the truth that Christians have celebrated and believed and clung to. And we still do. And in 61, which seems like a long sounds like a long time ago. John W. Peterson wrote this song. And these songwriters are deep in scripture. Inundated a wash in scripture. And there is a solid, rock, solid ideology in this old gospel song, Heaven Came Down and Glory Filled My Soul. And I'm going to ask you to sing it with me as our closing song today. Let's stand and sing it. What is it? 529. Thanks, Professor. Let's stand together and sing. 529.

SPEAKER_01 22:40

525.

SPEAKER_00 22:41

525. Whatever it is. You'll find it. Heaven came down and glory filled my soul. Look at the words. Look at the lyrics. The lyrics speak deeply of the gospel truth.

SPEAKER_02 23:03

Oh, what a wonderful, wonderful day. Day I will never forget. After in darkness away, Jesus, my Savior, I met. Oh, what a tender, compassionate friend. He met the need of my heart. Smelling with joy I am telling He made heart. Heaven came down and glory filled us. When at the cross the Savior made me whole, my sins were washed away, and my night was turned to deck. Heaven came down, and glory filled my soul, born of the Spirit with light from above into God's family divine, justified freely through Calvary's love. Oh, understanding is mine, and the transaction so quickly was made. When as a sinner I came of the offer of grace, he did profer, he saved me.

unknown 24:36

Oh, praise his dear name.

SPEAKER_02 24:39

Heaven came down, and glory filled my soul. When at the cross the Savior made me whole, my sins were washed away, and my life was turned today. Heaven came down, and glory filled my soul. On the last verse, ladies only, then we'll join with you on the chorus.

SPEAKER_01 25:31

And it is because of that wonderful day when the cross I believe, which is eternal, and blessings eternal for his precious deadline.

SPEAKER_02 26:12

Heaven came down in glory, filled with my soul. You may be seated. A great song. John Peterson has uh been, I think, divinely inspired to write that. It has so many good, precious uh truths to it. And many other songs too. I I love uh John Peterson's uh uh music. Um sure do. Heaven came down and glory filled my soul. Today's the first Sunday of the month, and we celebrate um what John's just talking about. This new covenant, this uh this gospel. And you can't go wrong with sharing that incredible gospel. The gospel is our bridge to us, God's a bridge to us, God building a bridge to us and and loving us and desiring a friendship, a fellowship. It's not religion, not religion, but it's a relationship. A friendship with God, one that we need all the time. And so that is what the gospel is all about. And today, as we celebrate our communion service, the shed blood of Christ uh represents what he has done for us.