838 - Actualizing Covenant

May 30, 2010

Sermon #838

Actualizing Covenant

Introduction: For the past several weeks we have been looking at "covenant." I told you about the covenant between Ruth and Boaz that produced the line of David, the covenant between Jonathan and David, and between Jesus and His Church. There is a difference, however, between hearing about covenant, knowledge of covenant, and actualizing covenant. Covenant blessings are released in abundance upon the remission of sin.

 

Matthew 26:27 - 29 (NKJV) ²⁷Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 
²⁸For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 
²⁹But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."

1. Knowledge of the forgiveness of sins is the foundation
   

Jeremiah 31:31 - 34 (NKJV) ³¹"Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—
³²not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 
³³But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 
³⁴No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

• When confronted by our sins, we cannot believe that we are welcome in His presence.
  
• We cannot believe that His promises are for us.
  
• We cringe under the sense of guilt.
  
• We are paralyzed to take the blessings of the covenant.
  

• What is forgiveness?
  

  • It is not being excused
    

    Leviticus 16:6 - 10 (NKJV) ⁶"Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house. 
    ⁷He shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 
    ⁸Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. 
    ⁹And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord'S lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. 
    ¹⁰But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.
    

  • It is sin being "sent away" - aphiemi in the Greek N.T.
    
  • Aphiemi is "divorced" – set at liberty
    

  Leviticus 25:8 - 12 (NKJV) ⁸'And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. 
  ⁹Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. 
  ¹⁰And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty (aphiemi) throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. 
  ¹¹That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine. 
  ¹²For it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat its produce from the field.
  

  
   

  John 1:29 (NKJV) ²⁹The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 
  

  
   

  Romans 6:15 - 19 (NKJV) ¹⁵What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 
  ¹⁶Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 
  ¹⁷But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 
  ¹⁸And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 
  ¹⁹I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
  

• A total release from all debt
  

  Matthew 18:21 - 35 (NKJV) ²¹Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"
  ²²Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 
  ²³Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 
  ²⁴And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 
  ²⁵But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 
  ²⁶The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' 
  

  
   

  ²⁷Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
  ²⁸"But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!' 
  ²⁹So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' 
  ³⁰And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 
  ³¹So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 
  

  
   

  
  ³²Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 
  ³³Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' 
  ³⁴And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
  ³⁵"So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."
  

  • It was a debt he could not pay – even if he had 10 lifetimes
    
  • It cost the Master
    
  • The debt was totally gone
    

    2 Corinthians 5:17 - 21 (NKJV) ¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 
    ¹⁸Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 
    ¹⁹that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
    ²⁰Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. 
    ²¹For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
    

  II.    Christ in us
  

Ezekiel 36:25 - 27 (NKJV) ²⁵Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.  ²⁶I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 
²⁷I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

1. Receiving a bear hug from God
   

   Luke 15:11 - 24 (NKJV) ¹¹Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. 
   ¹²And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood. 
   ¹³And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. 
   ¹⁴But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 
   ¹⁵Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 
   ¹⁶And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
   

   
    

   ¹⁷"But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 
   ¹⁸I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 
   ¹⁹and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants."'
   ²⁰"And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 
   ²¹And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
   

   
    

   ²²"But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 
   ²³And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 
   ²⁴for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry.
   

    
    

   Acts 10:44 - 48 (NKJV) ⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 
   ⁴⁵And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 
   ⁴⁶For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.
   Then Peter answered, 
   ⁴⁷"Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" 
   ⁴⁸And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.
   

• He "fell upon" that's what I mean by a bear hug!
  

1. The Holy Spirit connects us to the real world of the covenant
   

   ILL: I was asked a couple of years ago to speak at a church on the Holy Spirit and His Gifts. After three days I was told that they only wanted to hear about Him but not experience Him.
   

   
    

   1 Corinthians 6:15 - 20 (NKJV) ¹⁵Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 
   ¹⁶Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For "the two," He says, "shall become one flesh." 
   ¹⁷But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.
   ¹⁸Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 
   ¹⁹Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 
   ²⁰For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.
   

   C.    Covenant relationship hinges on the Holy Spirit being given to dwell in us
   

   John 14:15 - 21 (NKJV) ¹⁵"If you love Me, keep My commandments. 
   ¹⁶And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—
   ¹⁷the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 
   ¹⁸I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
   ¹⁹"A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 
   ²⁰At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 
   ²¹He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him."
   

   
    

   John 15:1 - 8 (NKJV) ¹"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 
   ²Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 
   ³You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 
   ⁴Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
   ⁵"I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 
   ⁶If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 
   ⁷If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 
   ⁸By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
   

Conclusion: It is not trying to be like Jesus or doing what Jesus would do!

One plus One equals One

Galatians 2:17 - 21 (NKJV) ¹⁷"But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! 
¹⁸For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 
¹⁹For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 
²⁰I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 
²¹I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."

 

Galatians 4:19 (NKJV) ¹⁹My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you… 

 

Luke 11:9 - 13 (NKJV) ⁹"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 
¹⁰For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 
¹¹If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 
¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 
¹³If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

837 – The Blood Covenant

May 22, 2010

Sermon #837

The Blood Covenant

Introduction: Last week we introduced you to The Power of Covenant. The Hebrew word Berit, translated covenant is found 272 times in the Old Testament. The Greek word diatcheke, translated covenant is 33 times in the New Testament. Covenant must be very important to God.

 

Hebrews 6:13 - 20 (NKJV) ¹³For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,
¹⁴saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you."
¹⁵And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. ¹⁶For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. ¹⁷Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, ¹⁸that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
¹⁹This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, ²⁰where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

1. The Covenant is a matter of life and death
   

Hebrews 13:20 - 21 (NKJV) ²⁰Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
²¹make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

1. The Penalty of sin is death
   

   Genesis 2:15 - 17 (NKJV) ¹⁵Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. ¹⁶And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; ¹⁷but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
   

   
    

   Romans 6:20 - 23 (NKJV) ²⁰For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ²¹What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. ²²But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. ²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
   

2. Life is in the blood
   

   Leviticus 17:13 - 14 (NKJV) ¹³"Whatever man of the children of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who hunts and catches any animal or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust; ¹⁴for it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, 'You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood. Whoever eats it shall be cut off.'
   

3. Anthologists have found that blood sacrifice was universal
   

4. The Beginnings
   

• Man knew that he needed a covering
  

  Genesis 3:6 - 12 (NKJV) ⁶So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
  ⁸And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
  ⁹Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"
  

  
   

  ¹⁰So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."
  ¹¹And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?"
  ¹²Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."
  

  
   

• The covering of fig leaves was the religious covering
  

  Mark 11:12 - 22 (NKJV) ¹²Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. ¹³And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again."
  And His disciples heard it.
  ¹⁵So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. ¹⁶And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.
  

  
   

  ¹⁷Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"
  ¹⁸And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching. ¹⁹When evening had come, He went out of the city.
  ²⁰Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. ²¹And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."
  ²²So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. 
  

  
   

• Nothing man does can cover sin – only faith in God's grace.
  

• God provided a covering
  

  Genesis 3:21 (NKJV) ²¹Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
  

  ILL: Do not miss this – an animal had to die in order for God to make them "tunics of skin." The first blood is shed!
  

• Cain's unacceptable offering
  

  Genesis 4:1 - 7 (NKJV) ¹Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the Lord." ²Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. ³And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. ⁴Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, ⁵but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
  ⁶So the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? ⁷If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."
  

  
   

  • Cain's offering is the product of his work - "fig leaves"
    
  • Abel's offering is a lamb whose blood has been shed – "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin"
    

    1 John 3:10 - 12 (NKJV) ¹⁰In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. ¹¹For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, ¹²not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous.
    

    ILL: The religious always want to destroy the righteous!
    

1. The day of atonement
   

Leviticus 16:7 - 10 (NKJV) ⁷He shall take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. ⁸Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for the Lord and the other lot for the scapegoat. ⁹And Aaron shall bring the goat on which the Lord'S lot fell, and offer it as a sin offering. ¹⁰But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness.

 

Leviticus 16:15 - 23 (NKJV) ¹⁵"Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat. ¹⁶So he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, for all their sins; and so he shall do for the tabernacle of meeting which remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness. ¹⁷There shall be no man in the tabernacle of meeting when he goes in to make atonement in the Holy Place, until he comes out, that he may make atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel. ¹⁸And he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord, and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around.

 

¹⁹Then he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, cleanse it, and consecrate it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
²⁰"And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place, the tabernacle of meeting, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat. ²¹Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man. ²²The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.
²³"Then Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of meeting, shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the Holy Place, and shall leave them there. 

• The high priest was to take two goats, one he laid his hands upon and recited the sins of the people. The other he killed. Dressed in the robe of the High Priest, over his heart twelve stones each reprehensive of one of the twelve tribes, he went behind the veil and sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat of the ark. The other living goat was taken to the wilderness and let loose, showing that the sins were taken away.
  
• The blood of animal life could not take away human sin but only cover it
  

  Hebrews 10:1 - 18 (NKJV) ¹For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. ²For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. ³But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. ⁴For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.
  

  
   

  ⁵Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:
  "Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
  But a body You have prepared for Me.
  ⁶In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
  You had no pleasure.
  ⁷Then I said, 'Behold, I have come—
  In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
  To do Your will, O God.'"
  ⁸Previously saying, "Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them" (which are offered according to the law), ⁹then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second.
  

  
   

  ¹⁰By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
  ¹¹And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹²But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. ¹⁴For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
  ¹⁵But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before,
  ¹⁶"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,"
  ¹⁷then He adds, "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."
  ¹⁸Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.
  

1. The New Covenant Prophesied
   

Jeremiah 31:31 - 35 (NKJV) ³¹"Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—
³²not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. ³³But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ³⁴No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
³⁵ Thus says the Lord,
Who gives the sun for a light by day,
The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night,
Who disturbs the sea,
And its waves roar
(The Lord of hosts is His name):

 

Ezekiel 36:25 - 27 (NKJV) ²⁵Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
²⁶I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

1. The New Covenant Actualized
   

Revelation 5:8-10 (NKJV) ⁸Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹And they sang a new song, saying:

"You are worthy to take the scroll,

And to open its seals;

For You were slain,

And have redeemed us to God by Your blood

Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

¹⁰ And have made us kings and priests to our God;

And we shall reign on the earth."

Romans 3:21 - 26 (NKJV) ²¹But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
²²even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, ²⁶to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Conclusion:

I am an American. How do I know? Because I was born one! I have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. How do I know? Because the Constitution - the covenant - says so! I am a Christian. How do I know? Because I was born again as one. I have a right to abundant life. How do I know? Because the covenant based upon God's Word states it and God is faithful to keep His Covenant. It was signed in His Blood and ratified by His resurrection from the dead and He is faithful – The Covenant is His Word and He cannot lie!

 

1 Corinthians 1:4 - 9 (NKJV) ⁴I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus,
⁵that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, ⁶even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, ⁷so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁸who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Philippians 1:3 - 6 (NKJV) ³I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
⁴always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, ⁵for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…

 

1 Thessalonians 5:23 - 24 (NKJV) ²³Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

 

836- The Power of Covenant

May 16, 2010

Sermon #836

The Power of Covenant

Introduction: What is a covenant? The Hebrew word translated "covenant" occurs 272 times in the Old Testament, and 33 times in the New Testament. A contract between two people or organizations is called a Berit, a "covenant." A treaty between nations is a Berit. A marriage contract is a Berit. The Constitution of the United States is a Berit. God made a diatheke, in the New Testament, New Covenant.

 

Hebrews 6:13 - 20 (NKJV) ¹³For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 
¹⁴saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." 
¹⁵And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 
¹⁶For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 
¹⁷Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 
¹⁸that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
¹⁹This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 
²⁰where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

 

The covenant is the sure and steadfast anchor of the soul!

The Berit between Jonathan and David

1. The Process
   

A.     The covenant instituted

1 Samuel 17:50 - 58 (NKJV) ⁵⁰So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. 
⁵¹Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.
And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 
⁵²Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. 
⁵³Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. 
⁵⁴And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
⁵⁵When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is this youth?"
And Abner said, "As your soul lives, O king, I do not know."

 

⁵⁶So the king said, "Inquire whose son this young man is."
⁵⁷Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 
⁵⁸And Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?"
So David answered, "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."

 

1 Samuel 18:1 - 4 (NKJV) ¹Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 
²Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father's house anymore. 
³Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 
⁴And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.

B.     Who is Jonathan?

• Son of King Saul, representative of Israel
  
• In placing his armor upon David, he recognized David as an equal
  

C.    Who is David?

• The son of a shepherd – Jesse
  
• Heir of a promise
  

  Ruth 4:13 - 17 (NKJV) ¹³So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. 
  ¹⁴Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! 
  ¹⁵And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him." 
  ¹⁶Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. 
  ¹⁷Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, "There is a son born to Naomi." And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
  

D.     The covenant ratified

1 Samuel 20:5 - 8 (NKJV) ⁵And David said to Jonathan, "Indeed tomorrow is the New Moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go, that I may hide in the field until the third day at evening. 
⁶If your father misses me at all, then say, 'David earnestly asked permission of me that he might run over to Bethlehem, his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.' 
⁷If he says thus: 'It is well,' your servant will be safe. But if he is very angry, be sure that evil is determined by him. 
⁸Therefore you shall deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. Nevertheless, if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?"

 

1 Samuel 20:14 - 16 (NKJV) ¹⁴And you shall not only show me the kindness of the Lord while I still live, that I may not die; 
¹⁵but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, no, not when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth." 
¹⁶So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "Let the Lord require it at the hand of David's enemies."

 

1 Samuel 20:41 - 42 (NKJV) ⁴¹As soon as the lad had gone, David arose from a place toward the south, fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times. And they kissed one another; and they wept together, but David more so. 
⁴²Then Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, 'May the Lord be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever.'" So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

E.    A life changing experience

1 Samuel 23:14 - 18 (NKJV) ¹⁴And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand. 
¹⁵So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest. 
¹⁶Then Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God. 
¹⁷And he said to him, "Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that." 
¹⁸So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.

II. The New Covenant is a life changing process

• As sons of Adam we served sin (Saul), but we are to change allegiances (The Son of David)
  

  Romans 6:5 - 14 (NKJV) ⁵For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 
  ⁶knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 
  ⁷For he who has died has been freed from sin. 
  ⁸Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 
  ⁹knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 
  ¹⁰For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 
  ¹¹Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
  ¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 
  ¹³And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 
  ¹⁴For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
  

• The covenant is to the "third generation"
  

  2 Samuel 4:4 (NKJV) ⁴Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.
  

  • Saul and Jonathan were killed by the Philistines
    
  • The Philistines tried to kill all the heirs to the king
    
  • Mephibosheth escaped
    
  • David conquered the Philistines and became king of Israel
    
  • Years passed
    

    2 Samuel 9:1 - 5 (NKJV) ¹Now David said, "Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" ²And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?"
    He said, "At your service!"
    ³Then the king said, "Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?"
    And Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet."
    ⁴So the king said to him, "Where is he?"
    And Ziba said to the king, "Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar."
    ⁵Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.
    

    
     

    ILL: Imagine how Mephibosheth felt. He had been taught that David was his enemy. David had stolen everything that belonged to his father and his kingdom, or so he thought. He believed that David would end his life
    

    2 Samuel 9:6 - 13 (NKJV) ⁶Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, "Mephibosheth?" And he answered, "Here is your servant!"
    ⁷So David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually."
    ⁸Then he bowed himself, and said, "What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?"
    ⁹And the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "I have given to your master's son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house. 
    ¹⁰You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master's son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master's son shall eat bread at my table always." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
    ¹¹Then Ziba said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do."
    "As for Mephibosheth," said the king, "he shall eat at my table like one of the king's sons." 
    ¹²Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth. 
    ¹³So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king's table. And he was lame in both his feet.
    

  • The world has been taught, as had Mephibosheth, that the Son of David, Jesus Christ, is its enemy.
    
  • They have been told from the pulpits that Christ is going to throw them into hell
    
  • They have been told that they have to serve sin as their lord.
    

    It is true that Sin has crippled their souls and hearts, but everything else is a lie of Satan!
    

  • The New Covenant has the power of life
    

  John 10:7 - 10 (NKJV) ⁷Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 
  ⁸All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 
  ⁹I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 
  ¹⁰The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
  

  • False ministers have told that Jesus makes people sick to "teach them a lesson" or that healing is not for today.
    

    1 Peter 2:23 - 24 (NKJV) ²³who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 
    ²⁴who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. 
    

    ILL: God has not changed and there are no sick in heaven.
    

  • 'Prosperity is not for today'
    

    3 John 1:2 - 4 (NKJV) ²Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.  ³For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. 
    ⁴I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
    

  • 'You have to work for salvation, or at least go through ritual'
    

    Romans 4:1 - 25 (NKJV) ¹What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh?  ²For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 
    ³For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." 
    ⁴Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
    ⁵But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 
    ⁶just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
    

    
     

    
    ⁷ "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
     And whose sins are covered;
    ⁸ Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin."
    ⁹Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. 
    ¹⁰How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. 
    ¹¹And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, 
    ¹²and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.
    

    
     

    ¹³For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. 
    ¹⁴For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect, 
    ¹⁵because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.
    ¹⁶Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 
    ¹⁷(as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; 
    ¹⁸who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be." 
    

    
     

    ¹⁹And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb. 
    ²⁰He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, 
    ²¹and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 
    ²²And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness."
    ²³Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, 
    ²⁴but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 
    ²⁵who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.
    

Conclusion:

Like Mephibosheth, we are invited to eat at the King's table!

 

Revelation 19:6-9 (NKJV
⁶And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! ⁷Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready." ⁸And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. ⁹Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!'" And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God." 

 

Matthew 26:26 - 29 (NKJV) ²⁶And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."
²⁷Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. 
²⁸For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 
²⁹But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."

 

David would not break the covenant he made with Jonathan even to Mephibosheth. Neither will the Son of David - Jesus Christ - break the covenant He makes with you.

 

 

835 – Faith’s Unexpected Reward

May 9, 2010

Sermon #835

Faith's Unexpected Reward

Ruth 1:16 - 17 (NKJV) ¹⁶But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God.
¹⁷ Where you die, I will die,
And there will I be buried.
The Lord do so to me, and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me."

• Ruth's unexpected confession of faith
  

• A Moabitess becomes a believer
  

  Ruth 1:1 - 5 (NKJV) ¹Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. ²The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion—Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there. ³Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. ⁴Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years. ⁵Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband.
  

  • Ruth was a Moabitess from the land of Moab, 120 miles north of Israel.
    
  • The sons of Elimelech married Moabitess
    
  • Mahlon chose Ruth while her best friend Orpah was give to the eager Chilion.
    
  • The two men both die
    
  • Naomi decides to return to Bethlehem
    

• A decision brings a division – it always does
  

  • Orpah decides to remain a Moabitess
    
  • Ruth decides to become a Jew
    

    Luke 14:25 - 33 (NKJV) ²⁵Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them,
    ²⁶"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
    ²⁷And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
    ²⁸For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—
    ²⁹lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
    ³⁰saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'
    ³¹Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
    ³²Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace.
    ³³So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
    

    
     

  • Ruth had to leave Moab and its gods
    
  • Ruth had to leave her family in Moab
    
  • Ruth had to separate from her best friend, Orpah
    

• The Decision is tested
  

• The time is 13 centuries before Christ
  
• Naomi and Ruth have no protector and no money beyond their barest needs
  
• They crossed the Arnon and Jordan
  
• Ascending mountains and descending into deep valleys
  
• When they came to Bethlehem, Ruth had to take the hard task of a reaper…
  

  Ruth 2:1 - 9 (NKJV) ¹There was a relative of Naomi's husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. ²So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor."
  And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."
  ³Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.
  ⁴Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, "The Lord be with you!"
  And they answered him, "The Lord bless you!"
  ⁵Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose young woman is this?"
  

  
   

  ⁶So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, "It is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. ⁷And she said, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.' So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house."
  ⁸Then Boaz said to Ruth, "You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. ⁹Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn."
  

• Once the decision is made, the end is predestined
  

Romans 8:28 - 39 (NKJV) ²⁸And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. ²⁹For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. ³⁰Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
³¹What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³²He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? ³³Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. ³⁴Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. ³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

 

³⁶As it is written:
"For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."
³⁷Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Ruth 2:10 - 12 (NKJV) ¹⁰So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?"
¹¹And Boaz answered and said to her, "It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. ¹²The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge."

Christian Mothers – do not despair! - Naomi believed God

Acts 11:4 - 14 (NKJV) ⁴But Peter explained it to them in order from the beginning, saying: ⁵"I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object descending like a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came to me. ⁶When I observed it intently and considered, I saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. ⁷And I heard a voice saying to me, 'Rise, Peter; kill and eat.'
⁸But I said, 'Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.' ⁹But the voice answered me again from heaven, 'What God has cleansed you must not call common.'
¹⁰Now this was done three times, and all were drawn up again into heaven.

 

¹¹At that very moment, three men stood before the house where I was, having been sent to me from Caesarea. ¹²Then the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. ¹³And he told us how he had seen an angel standing in his house, who said to him, 'Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon whose surname is Peter, ¹⁴who will tell you words by which you and all your household will be saved.' 

 

Acts 16:25 - 34 (NKJV) ²⁵But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed. ²⁷And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. ²⁸But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, "Do yourself no harm, for we are all here."
²⁹Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

 

³¹So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." ³²Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized. ³⁴Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

 

Psalm 103:17 - 18 (NKJV) ¹⁷But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children's children,
¹⁸To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.

• Ruth was not prepared for the next order of Naomi
  

Ruth 3:1 - 4 (NKJV) ¹Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you?
²Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. ³Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. ⁴Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down; and he will tell you what you should do."

• Naomi knew the Scriptures
  

  
   

  Genesis 38:6 - 11 (NKJV) ⁶Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. ⁷But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him. ⁸And Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother." ⁹But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother's wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. ¹⁰And the thing which he did displeased the Lord; therefore He killed him also.
  ¹¹Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house till my son Shelah is grown." For he said, "Lest he also die like his brothers." And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
  

  ILL: The next of kin was to provide an heir for the dead!
  

  
   

• Ruth did not know this but obeyed trusting in Naomi!
  

  Ruth 3:5 - 18 (NKJV) ⁵And she said to her, "All that you say to me I will do." ⁶So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her. ⁷And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
  ⁸Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. ⁹And he said, "Who are you?"
  So she answered, "I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative."
  ¹⁰Then he said, "Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich.
  

  
   

  ¹¹And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman. ¹²Now it is true that I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. ¹³Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for you—good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, as the Lord lives! Lie down until morning."
  ¹⁴So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, "Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor." ¹⁵Also he said, "Bring the shawl that is on you and hold it." And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then she went into the city.
  ¹⁶When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, "Is that you, my daughter?"
  Then she told her all that the man had done for her.
  

  
   

  ¹⁷And she said, "These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, 'Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.'"
  ¹⁸Then she said, "Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day."
  

• Imagine what Ruth was concerned about – would Boaz think that she was a prostitute?
  
• Boaz was an honorable man, an honorable man is honorable even when no one else knows what he is doing!
  
• Boaz made sure there would not be any gossip.
  
• Boaz handled everything in a legal manner.
  

  
   

  Ruth 4:1 - 12 (NKJV) ¹Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, "Come aside, friend, sit down here." So he came aside and sat down. ²And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down. ³Then he said to the close relative, "Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. ⁴And I thought to inform you, saying, 'Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.'"
  And he said, "I will redeem it."
  

  
   

  ⁵Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance."
  ⁶And the close relative said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it."
  ⁷Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel.
  ⁸Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself." So he took off his sandal. ⁹And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, from the hand of Naomi.
  

  
   

  ¹⁰Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day."
  ¹¹And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. ¹²May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young woman."
  

Conclusion: The prophecy of the women:

Ruth 4:13 - 15 (NKJV) ¹³So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. ¹⁴Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! ¹⁵And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him."

 

Matthew 1:5 - 6 (NKJV) ⁵Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse,
⁶and Jesse begot David the king.
David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.

 

Matthew 1:24 - 25 (NKJV) ²⁴Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,
²⁵and did not know her till she had brought forth her
firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.

God will always keep His Word to a Righteous Mother!