The Midnight Cry

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

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Series Code: TMC

Program Code: TMC000012A


00:20 Our Father in heaven,
00:23 tonight as we look at this covenant
00:28 that You desire to make with each of us
00:32 we pray that You will help us understand what's involved
00:36 that we might realize
00:41 what You want to do for each of us.
00:44 We ask, Lord, that our faith
00:47 may not be weak
00:50 but that we might look to You
00:53 and know that all heaven and earth
00:57 is dependent upon Your power,
01:00 Your strength. And the very throne of heaven
01:04 is staked on the fulfillment of Your Word.
01:08 And so we ask tonight
01:10 that You'll bless us as we study Your Word together.
01:13 For this we pray in Christ's name, Amen.
01:24 Revelation the 19th chapter
01:28 pictures Jesus coming back on a white horse.
01:33 And it just simply says that when He comes back
01:36 He has His name written certain places.
01:40 This is what it says... Revelation 19:16:
01:53 So it says He has written on His thigh
01:57 and on His robe His name:
01:59 "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. "
02:02 Why would that be?
02:04 Why would He have His name written on His thigh?
02:08 Rather strange place to write His name.
02:11 Or why would He write it on His robe?
02:14 Well, you remember a man in the Bible by the name of Jacob?
02:20 You remember Jacob was coming back
02:23 from his uncle Laban's house headed back to Canaan.
02:28 He's got out onto the plains
02:31 of Peniel and there he's concerned
02:35 because when he left 20 years ago
02:37 his father's home his brother Esau
02:40 had said to him: "When Dad dies I'm going to kill you. "
02:46 And now he's headed back home
02:48 and he hears that Esau is coming
02:51 with 400 soldiers.
02:54 And so he thinks that his life is in danger.
02:58 And so here he is out in the middle of this plain
03:01 and a stranger comes into the camp.
03:04 And he begins to wrestle with this stranger thinking that
03:07 it's Esau.
03:08 Wrestles with him all night long.
03:11 As it begins to break towards dawn, he realizes
03:15 that he's been wrestling with an angel.
03:18 And it says that he took hold of this angel
03:23 and said to him: "I will not let you go
03:26 unless you bless me. "
03:28 Do you remember? Do you remember what that angel did?
03:35 Said that he touched his thigh
03:39 and from that day on Jacob was crippled.
03:43 Touched his thigh. Now Jacob is an old old man.
03:49 He's in Egypt.
03:51 He is dying.
03:54 Watch what happens here:
04:16 He said: "If I have found favor in your sight,
04:18 put your hand under my thigh... "
04:29 You see, this was a way
04:32 that they entered into a covenant.
04:35 That's the way that they entered into an oath with that person
04:38 is they put their hand under their thigh
04:42 and they entered into a covenant or took an oath.
04:46 And there's other cases in Scripture where that took place.
04:48 So when Jesus comes back
04:50 and He has His name written on His thigh
04:53 that is a sign of the covenant that He has with you.
04:57 That's what that is.
04:58 That's why His name is written on His thigh.
05:01 Why is it written on His robe?
05:03 Well listen... this is what it tells us:
05:22 Now listen carefully:
05:37 You see, part of this covenant that God wants to make with you
05:41 is that He takes His robe of righteousness
05:45 and places that robe of righteousness around you
05:48 and around me.
05:50 That's the reason when He comes back
05:52 He has His name written on His robe.
05:55 Because His robe represents the righteousness of God
05:59 that God covers you with.
06:02 That's what it stands for... that's what it represents.
06:05 Listen... Hebrews 10 verse 16:
06:19 All right, this is the covenant He's entering into with you.
06:25 OK.
06:36 You see, He simply takes that robe of righteousness
06:39 and He covers you and I with that robe of righteousness.
06:43 So when Jesus comes back in the clouds of heaven
06:46 and He has His name written on His thigh
06:48 and upon His robe, that is the covenant that He's made with you
06:53 and He says: "Listen, I'm not going to remember your sins
06:55 any more. " That's what He's talking about.
06:59 Very very special covenant
07:02 that God wants to make with you tonight.
07:05 You see, in the English language
07:07 we have quite a few different words for a covenant.
07:11 Sometimes we refer to a covenant as a will.
07:16 Sometimes when they make out a will they refer to it
07:19 as a covenant. This is an agreement...
07:22 something that they made. We use the word
07:24 contract also for a covenant.
07:28 That can refer to a covenant.
07:30 Or we use the word testament.
07:34 That's what you have here.
07:36 Old and New Testament
07:39 means old and new covenant.
07:43 See, that's a word for covenant is the word testament.
07:46 Or you have the word agreement.
07:49 That's another word for a covenant.
07:51 An agreement that's made... a contract.
07:53 Or you use the word covenant itself.
07:56 So when we're talking about a covenant
07:59 and entering into a covenant with God
08:02 there's very special things that we want to see about that
08:05 covenant. So tonight I want to give you a definition
08:09 of what a covenant is so you can understand
08:12 if you're going to enter into a covenant with God
08:15 what are those conditions.
08:17 This is what the definition of a covenant is:
08:28 That is a covenant.
08:31 When an individual or parties
08:33 bind themselves to each other
08:37 to fulfill certain conditions that is a covenant.
08:41 OK?
08:43 So, let's say tonight
08:46 we're going to enter into a covenant.
08:49 OK... let's say that you and I are going to
08:53 enter into a covenant.
08:55 If we enter into a covenant, when is that covenant in force?
09:01 Now let me illustrate what I'm saying.
09:04 Let's say that you and I enter into a covenant.
09:07 We put down all the conditions of the covenant.
09:10 We list it all... we decide what we agree on.
09:13 And we take that to a lawyer and we have that written up
09:17 in legal language. He writes it all up.
09:20 We have it notarized.
09:22 OK. Can that covenant be changed?
09:31 Can that covenant be changed?
09:33 Well, let's say there's some condition in that covenant
09:36 that both of us don't like.
09:39 We make the covenant, we get it all settled
09:42 and everything but it just doesn't work quite right
09:45 and so both of us don't like it.
09:47 Can we go back to the lawyer and get that changed?
09:50 Oh, yes... we can go back to the lawyer.
09:52 We can have him strike out part of it
09:55 and we can initial it. OK?
10:00 Let's say that one of us dies.
10:04 Can it be changed?
10:06 All right... now listen carefully:
10:28 So the covenant goes in force after men are dead.
10:33 So what I'm trying to tell you tonight:
10:35 don't let anybody ever tell you any different,
10:38 the covenant...
10:40 if Jesus Christ
10:43 was going to change the covenant -
10:45 follow me, folks -
10:47 if Jesus Christ was going to change the covenant,
10:51 He had to do it before He died
10:53 because when He died He sealed it with His blood.
10:57 Cannot be changed once Jesus died.
11:02 So no matter what anybody ever tells you
11:05 the covenant had to be changed if it was going to be changed
11:09 before Jesus died not after He died.
11:15 The Bible doesn't teach that.
11:17 Neither does legal terms teach that.
11:20 It teaches it's enforced after men are dead.
11:25 OK. So God has a special covenant
11:30 that He wants to enter into with you and with me.
11:38 It's just simply saying that it was dedicated to blood.
11:41 God has a covenant that He wants to make with man.
11:45 Let's take a look... see what that covenant is.
11:48 Now dear friends, I can't think of anything in God's Word
11:54 that offers more to you
11:58 and to me than what I'm about to read to you.
12:02 You look at this carefully. Wonderful promise, OK?
12:17 Now God's saying to you and we'll see that this applies
12:20 to you tonight. God's saying: "If you'll obey My voice,
12:24 keep my covenant... " what's going to happen?
12:38 God said: "If you will obey My voice,
12:41 keep My covenant, you will be a special people to Me. "
12:46 That's what God is saying.
12:48 He said: "All the earth's Mine...
12:49 you'll be My special people. "
12:51 So God wants to enter in to this covenant with you tonight
12:55 in a very special way.
12:58 Listen to some of the things that He says:
13:20 So God is saying to you:
13:23 "If you'll enter into a covenant with Me,
13:26 then I will put My law in your heart.
13:30 I'll write it on your mind;
13:33 you will be My people
13:36 and I will be your God. "
13:40 That's what He promises to all of you here tonight...
13:42 to each one of us.
13:54 That is the covenant He wants.
13:56 "Walk in all the ways that I have commanded you
14:00 and it will be... " Come on... "it will be
14:05 well with you. "
14:07 Now folks, this Book has not failed!
14:11 I mean, it has stood the test of time. It hasn't failed.
14:15 So if God says: "If you do this it will be well with you"
14:20 then is it going to be well with you?
14:23 You'd better believe it is.
14:25 God makes that promise and He says: "Just do this.
14:28 It will be well with you. "
14:44 So God wants to enter in to a covenant with you tonight.
14:48 Now God has made some covenants,
14:51 and some of the covenants that He has made
14:54 were what we call everlasting covenants.
14:58 Everlasting covenants mean that they never end, right?
15:02 Never come to an end.
15:04 They're everlasting covenants.
15:07 One of the everlasting covenants that God made -
15:10 one you ought to remember -
15:13 was what? Do you remember this one?
15:32 OK, let's see what the covenant is.
15:54 God entered into a covenant with man. He said: "Never
15:57 again will the entire earth ever be flooded with water. "
16:01 That's a covenant that God made.
16:04 Let me ask you something: has God broken His covenant?
16:07 Never!
16:08 Every time you walk out there and you see a rainbow
16:11 that is a sign of God's covenant that He is faithful
16:15 that He does not fail.
16:18 And that covenant is an everlasting covenant.
16:22 Never ends. You with me?
16:26 OK, God made an everlasting covenant
16:29 with Abraham.
16:41 He's making this covenant
16:43 with Abraham. That's who He's making it with.
16:51 So He said: "Abraham, I'm going to enter in to an
16:53 everlasting covenant with you. "
17:00 So He said: "Abraham, I'm going to be your God;
17:05 you are going to be My people. "
17:09 That's the covenant He made with Abraham.
17:11 He said: "I'll be your God; you're going to be My people. "
17:14 That covenant that God made with Abraham
17:17 is an everlasting covenant. Listen to this:
17:43 So dear friends, the Scripture says
17:46 That God is a covenant-keeping God.
17:50 Doesn't fail... OK?
17:53 Everlasting... to a thousand generations.
17:57 All right.
18:28 So He made an everlasting covenant with them.
18:31 Now that being the case
18:33 that God said: "Abraham, I'm going to make a covenant
18:36 with you and with your descend- ants. It will be forever. "
18:40 Then the question that you and I have to ask ourselves
18:43 tonight is: "Does that covenant
18:49 include the Gentile or is it just for the Jew? "
18:55 Now folks, you've got to settle that in your heart
18:59 and in your soul because if you do not settle that
19:02 once and for all,
19:04 you will never understand this Book.
19:08 So you've got to settle it in your heart tonight.
19:12 Does that covenant that God made...
19:14 does that covenant include the Gentile
19:17 or was it made just to the Jewish people?
19:22 And if you don't settle it
19:24 then you will never fully understand the Word of God.
19:29 OK? So we need to look at some Scripture here
19:32 and ask ourselves very clearly
19:34 does that covenant include the Gentile?
19:39 All right. Moses...
19:44 right down there about ready to cross the Jordan River...
19:49 Moses is soon going to go up to Mount Nebo where he will die.
19:54 He is repeating the covenant.
19:56 I want you to listen to what it says here:
20:05 Now here all the children of Israel are standing out there.
20:09 All they are. And Moses is saying:
20:11 "This covenant that God is making, He's not making it
20:15 with you alone. " Hmm.
20:18 Who else is there?
20:22 What Gentiles?
20:25 Are there Gentiles there? Yes there are.
20:28 There's a lot of Egyptians that left the land of Egypt
20:31 with the children of Israel.
20:33 So He's saying: "I'm not just making this with you alone. "
20:36 Let's go on:
20:43 He said: "All of you that are standing out there -
20:46 Jew, Gentile... all of you that are standing out there -
20:50 I'm making this covenant with you
20:52 before the Lord our God... "
21:02 Does it include the Gentiles?
21:06 Are you sure?
21:07 Well, let's look at another scripture.
21:30 He said: "No... not just with you;
21:33 I'm giving you as a light to the Gentiles. "
21:42 So that covenant does not include just the Jew.
21:46 It includes the Gentile as well.
21:49 Look at one more:
22:06 All right.
22:18 So it doesn't include just the Jew.
22:23 And you find when you move into the New Testament
22:25 it makes it very very clear that it included more
22:30 than the Jew. Galatians the 3rd chapter verse 14 says:
22:36 Now, God made an everlasting covenant with who?
22:39 Abraham.
22:47 So dear friend, tonight
22:49 I hope that you are 100% clear
22:52 that that covenant included you.
22:56 OK? Now if that covenant included you,
23:00 then we need to take a good close look at it
23:03 and see what's involved in it.
23:06 That we might receive the promise of the Spirit
23:09 through faith. That He promises, that's part of the covenant.
23:13 OK. You see, the covenant...
23:23 Did you know that?
23:25 I mean, it's not just some- thing that God takes lightly.
23:29 God had a very special place that He kept the covenant.
23:33 And He made the covenant there with the Jewish people -
23:36 Abraham and all of them - and the Scripture says this:
23:59 So the ark... the ark was the place where God
24:03 kept the covenant.
24:06 Put it in the ark, and it was kept in a special place there
24:09 because it was special to God.
24:11 But you remember Nebuchadnezzar came down
24:16 and destroyed the temple.
24:18 And Jeremiah and some devout men took the ark
24:21 and hid it. Never been found to this day.
24:26 So what about the covenant now?
24:29 Is it just hidden in some cave
24:32 and God knows where it is but you and I don't?
24:36 No... the Scripture doesn't leave you in any doubt.
24:39 Listen:
24:55 So the ark's there in heaven.
24:57 There's an ark there in heaven, and in that ark
25:01 is the covenant that God enters into with you.
25:05 Right there in heaven.
25:06 "And there were lightnings and noises
25:09 and thunders and great earthquakes and great hail. "
25:13 So it talks about the ark up in heaven.
25:16 Now what we want to do now
25:17 is we want to take a look at what the New Testament
25:20 has to say about the covenant.
25:25 You see, you may not have realized it
25:28 but many of you when you go to church
25:31 you do something that when you do it
25:34 you may not have understood that you're actually
25:37 entering into a covenant with God.
25:39 You're actually entering into this covenant
25:41 and saying: "Lord, listen, I'll be Your people;
25:44 You be my God. "
25:46 Do you know what you do
25:48 when you do something at church?
25:50 Every time you celebrate the Lord's Supper
25:54 that's what you're doing is you're entering into a covenant
25:58 with God.
26:18 So when you celebrate the Lord's Supper
26:21 you're actually entering into a covenant with the Lord.
26:25 That's what you're doing.
26:27 You may not understand
26:29 the ramifications of the covenant.
26:32 And I hope tonight that you will understand what's involved
26:36 in the covenant and what God wants you to understand.
26:40 Galatians... Galatians the third chapter
26:45 and verse 29. It says:
26:49 You understand that statement "If you are Christ's? "
26:52 That means if you belong to the Lord.
26:54 That means if you've given your heart to Jesus Christ.
26:57 If you've accepted Him... that's what that's saying.
27:08 Hmm... so if you accept Jesus Christ
27:14 you are what? Abraham's seed.
27:19 Are you beginning to get the picture?
27:21 God made the covenant with Abraham.
27:24 He made an everlasting covenant.
27:26 And when you accept Jesus Christ
27:29 you become part of Abraham's seed and therefore
27:34 you become part of the covenant that God made with Abraham.
27:39 OK? That's what happens.
27:41 That's what takes place. You become an heir to the
27:45 promise because you are an heir of Abraham.
28:00 Can't do anything about that, can we?
28:02 That's the way we're born.
28:04 Born a Gentile in the flesh
28:07 so that's nothing that you and I can do anything about.
28:10 But watch what God promises you here.
28:16 When you were a Gentile in the flesh
28:18 God says you at that time were without Christ.
28:22 If there's any of you here tonight that do not know Jesus
28:26 Christ as your personal Savior
28:28 then you are without Christ.
28:31 OK? You are a Gentile in the flesh.
28:35 That's what the Scripture says.
28:36 All right:
28:41 You're not connected to Israel.
28:44 You're an alien
28:45 separated from Israel because you don't know Jesus Christ.
28:57 But oh, when you accept Jesus Christ
29:01 ah, you become... you become a seed of Abraham.
29:07 You become an heir to the promise.
29:09 You become part of the covenant that God made.
29:13 That's what you become.
29:14 All right? So that promise was given to you, dear friend,
29:18 just as much as it was given to the Jew.
29:22 Now the question I've gotta ask you tonight:
29:26 why do we need a new covenant?
29:30 Was there something wrong with the old covenant?
29:35 And if there was nothing wrong with the old covenant,
29:37 then why did they have a new covenant?
29:41 See? Why does the Scripture, New Testament, talk about
29:45 a new covenant. Was there some- thing wrong with the old one?
29:48 And if there's something wrong with the old one,
29:50 what was wrong with it? Well, let's take a look.
29:54 Let's see where the problem is.
30:08 Moses came down out of the mountain,
30:10 took the Book of the Covenant, and read it to the people.
30:15 All right? "And they said... "
30:22 Good response or bad response?
30:27 You don't know, huh?
30:30 Good response or bad response?
30:32 Good response... good response.
30:35 Not anything wrong with that. They said:
30:38 "All that the Lord has said we will do and be obedient. "
30:41 That was a good response!
30:44 OK? That was not where the problem was.
30:47 Remember that a covenant, a covenant is an agreement...
30:57 That's what they did.
30:59 They said: "All that the Lord has said
31:03 we will do and be obedient. "
31:07 Not anything wrong with that in any way. That was good.
31:11 OK. Now the question is:
31:21 Do you understand what I mean by that?
31:23 Was there something wrong with what was written down.
31:28 The conditions of it. The things that were written down
31:32 in God's covenant, was there something wrong with that?
31:36 Or where was the problem? If there was something wrong,
31:39 where was the problem?
31:40 Well let's see if we can find out where the problem was.
31:53 So the Bible says very clearly
31:55 if there wasn't something wrong with the first one,
31:58 then there would have been no reason for the second.
32:00 So there must be something wrong with the first one.
32:03 The question you have to settle in your heart tonight:
32:06 is the problem with the first covenant
32:09 concerning what was written down?
32:11 The conditions of it?
32:14 Well let's see if the Scripture tells us where the problem is.
32:23 The problem was not in what was written down...
32:27 the problem was with the people.
32:31 Not anything wrong with what was written down.
32:34 The problem was with the people.
32:37 They said: "All that the Lord has said
32:39 we will do. " This is what they did.
32:47 They did not do what they said
32:50 and God said: "Therefore I will not honor them
32:54 because they didn't do what they said they would do. "
32:56 So the problem was not in the conditions.
32:59 The problem was with the people.
33:02 What did they do? They took the old covenant
33:06 and they turned it into obedience by works.
33:11 And they said: "If you do
33:15 this, this, this, and this,
33:17 you're going to get into heaven. "
33:20 And they made it totally and completely
33:23 a matter of works.
33:27 That's what they believed.
33:29 That's what they thought.
33:31 Are you acquainted with this woman?
33:34 Her name is Dr. Laura.
33:37 You hear her on the radio.
33:39 Huh? Acquainted with her?
33:41 You understand that she's a Jew?
33:44 OK... she wrote a book called The Ten Commandments.
33:48 I read the book.
33:50 Very good book. Very excellent book on morals.
33:54 In the book she says this and she gives a definition
33:58 of Christianity.
34:01 One of the clearest definitions I have ever read.
34:04 I want you to listen to it carefully.
34:17 That's beautiful, folks. That's exactly what Jesus does
34:20 for you, what He does for me.
34:23 I accept Jesus Christ and He comes in and begins
34:29 to change my life and to change the tendencies
34:32 and to change the way I live. Listen:
34:46 So you and I... by faith we reach out
34:50 and we accept Jesus Christ. And as we accept Him
34:53 we turn our life over to Him. And He comes in
34:56 and He begins to do His work in our life and changes us.
35:00 That's what the Christian believes.
35:02 This is what she believes:
35:14 That is salvation by works.
35:18 Great great difference than what Jesus taught.
35:23 He taught that salvation was by grace.
35:27 Salvation was by looking to Him.
35:29 Salvation did not come in one's ability.
35:34 OK... that's what the Jewish people did:
35:37 they took that covenant and they turned that into
35:40 a covenant of works.
35:42 Now the Scripture simply tells us this:
35:52 Jesus Christ has obtained a more excellent ministry...
36:08 Hmm? Established on better promises?
36:13 Let me ask you:
36:15 are your promises better than the Jewish people?
36:20 You've got more backbone than Jewish people?
36:25 You've got more willpower than the Jewish people?
36:29 Huh? Are your promises better than the Jewish people?
36:33 Well if your promises aren't any better than the Jewish people
36:37 then how can you make it on better promises?
36:43 Well you see, the first covenant -
36:46 the old covenant -
36:48 was simply between God and the people.
36:51 Moses came down, read it, and they said: "All
36:54 that the Lord has said we will do and be obedient. "
36:57 But they weren't.
36:59 The new covenant is not between God and the people.
37:03 The new covenant is between God and Jesus Christ.
37:07 That's why it's on much much better promises:
37:12 because it is between God and Jesus.
37:16 That's what makes it much better.
37:18 And so when you and I come to Jesus Christ
37:21 and we accept Him
37:23 ah, dear friend, THEN He begins to do His work
37:27 in our hearts. Watch
37:30 'cause it says here in Hebrew 9 verse 15:
37:41 OK, what is He saying?
37:43 He's saying: "Listen, this new covenant... I have sealed it
37:47 with My death. "
37:50 You see, it required blood.
37:52 And so He died... paid the price.
37:55 He sealed that covenant forever by His death.
38:11 So He said: "Listen, I'm going to give you this promise
38:14 because I died. "
38:23 Jesus Christ said: "I'm making this covenant with you
38:26 and I'm going to come down and I'm going to pay the price
38:29 for each one of you here tonight. "
38:31 And that He did for every last one of you here.
38:35 But that wasn't enough!
38:37 That wasn't enough, friends.
38:40 If all that was necessary to save you
38:44 was for Jesus to die,
38:48 He could have died as a baby and gone back to heaven.
38:53 He wouldn't have had to stick around for 30 years.
38:58 Why? 'Cause the covenant required something else.
39:15 God says: "Hang on! "
39:25 He is our High Priest; He can sympathize
39:28 with our weaknesses because He came here
39:30 and He lived on this earth just like you and I.
39:34 OK? Lived here.
39:46 Came down here and He lived an absolute perfect life
39:50 because the covenant says: "If you obey Me
39:54 and follow Me. " Jesus said: "I'll live a perfect life
39:58 for you. " So He died and He lived a perfect life
40:04 for you and me. Therefore He says to you: "Because
40:07 I did that for you, let us therefore come boldly
40:11 to the throne of grace... "
40:21 Now I want you to understand
40:25 some of the conditions of the covenant here.
40:27 What I'm sharing with you right now, dear friends,
40:31 as far as I'm concerned is the most important
40:33 part of the whole covenant.
40:36 And you have to listen carefully or you'll miss it.
40:39 Many times if you're reading if you don't read slowly
40:42 and you don't read carefully
40:44 you miss some of the great great promises of God's Word.
40:48 So listen carefully... Hebrews 13 verse 20:
41:04 So it's talking about the everlasting covenant.
41:13 Now folks, if you don't watch carefully you miss it.
41:17 It says: "make you complete. "
41:20 Who makes you complete?
41:23 Jesus Christ! You see, we miss that
41:25 many times... we think that's our job
41:28 is to make ourselves complete.
41:30 No... that's God's job!
41:32 Your responsibility and mine
41:34 is to turn your live over to Him
41:36 and let Him do His work in your life
41:39 and He will make you complete to do His will.
41:42 He promises that.
41:44 And I don't care who you are, I don't care what you've done,
41:47 I don't care what your situation is,
41:49 if you get up every morning and you commit your life
41:52 to Jesus Christ HE WILL do His work in your life.
41:56 Change it; make it different for you.
42:08 He'll work in your life and He'll change and He'll make it
42:10 different.
42:16 That is the promise.
42:18 And dear friends, when you enter into that kind of relationship
42:21 with Jesus Christ you no longer have
42:26 obedience by works.
42:29 You no longer have that.
42:31 You have something completely different.
42:47 Who does the putting?
42:49 Jesus Christ. He said: "I'll put My law
42:52 in your mind; I'll write it on your heart. "
42:59 That, dear friend, is obedience by faith.
43:04 See? Totally and completely different
43:06 than obedience by works.
43:08 It's when I turn my life over and by faith I cling
43:12 to the Lord Jesus Christ He does His work in my life
43:15 and that changes it and makes it different.
43:18 That is a joyous occasion.
43:21 That's a joyous work because the Lord is doing it
43:24 and He changes my life.
43:26 This idea that we have of struggling and fighting
43:29 all the time... that's why so many people go around
43:33 with long faces 'cause their Christian experience
43:36 is not happy.
43:38 See? Because they never have found the joy there is
43:40 in Jesus Christ.
43:44 Now God has a covenant.
43:48 That covenant... He has a sign of the covenant.
43:52 Always has a sign of the covenant.
43:54 He made an everlasting covenant with you and me.
43:58 That was the rainbow.
44:00 So that when you see the rainbow you know the earth's
44:03 never going to be flooded.
44:05 In order for that sign to be right
44:08 it has to fulfill certain requirements.
44:10 One: in order for that sign to be right
44:13 it has to be universal.
44:15 If, you know, you only saw rainbows in the United States,
44:19 that wouldn't be very good, would it?
44:20 I mean, it's gotta be universal, it's gotta be everywhere.
44:23 Secondly, not only does it have to be universal
44:25 it has to be tangible. It has to be something you can see,
44:28 feel, taste. You've gotta be able to
44:30 know that it's there... it's gotta be tangible.
44:32 Thirdly, it has to be well-defined.
44:35 And the rainbow is very well-defined, right?
44:37 Don't have any trouble... when you see it you know it.
44:40 All right. Four: it has to be incorruptible.
44:43 You can't corrupt it.
44:45 No way... I don't care how long you look for the
44:47 end of the rainbow you can't corrupt it:
44:50 you can't steal the gold. OK?
44:52 And it has to be personal.
44:54 OK? Those are things that have to be in a sign
44:59 of a covenant. Now God has an everlasting covenant,
45:03 right? that He made with Abraham.
45:06 OK... do you know what the sign is?
45:12 God gave a sign. Just the same as a rainbow
45:16 He gave a sign of that everlasting covenant.
45:18 Let's see if we can find out what it is.
45:35 Listen, I'm going to read you several texts.
45:37 Watch... it makes it crystal clear
45:39 that the Sabbath is the sign of God's covenant with you.
45:42 That's what it is.
45:57 So He said: "This is a sign that I have given of My covenant. "
46:12 So He says: "I've given the Sabbath.
46:14 That is a sign of My covenant. "
46:33 OK... if the Sabbath
46:37 is God's sign of the covenant that He made with Abraham,
46:41 then does it fulfill all the requirements?
46:46 Got to ask ourselves that.
46:47 "It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever. "
47:06 Well, let's see if it does.
47:08 Well, to begin with: is it universal?
47:12 Sure. Any place you go in the world
47:15 it's universal. All right?
47:17 Secondly, is it tangible?
47:21 Huh? Absolutely... it's a piece of time.
47:24 It is tangible.
47:26 OK? Very much a piece of time.
47:28 Thirdly, is it well-defined?
47:33 Huh? Oh, very well defined indeed.
47:37 For you remember God made it very clear that the Sabbath
47:42 began at sunset
47:45 and goes to sunset.
47:49 He defined it... absolutely.
47:51 So no question... it is well-defined
47:55 when you take a look at it.
47:56 So when we took a look at it we found that the Sabbath
47:59 is:
48:08 OK... Let's go on.
48:10 Is it incorruptible?
48:13 Absolutely! You may not keep it but you can't corrupt it.
48:16 See? It's incorruptible!
48:19 And five: is it personal?
48:22 So it fits all the criteria of a sign...
48:26 the Sabbath does.
48:27 All right. So my question is simply this one which you've
48:32 gotta settle in your heart...
48:34 The question that you have to settle is:
48:41 Now you understand what you're saying?
48:44 See, you've already told me that that covenant
48:47 included the Gentile.
48:49 And if the covenant included the Gentile
48:52 and the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant,
48:55 then does it include the Gentile?
48:58 Absolutely... but let's look at some Scripture
49:00 and see if the Bible says that it's for the Gentile as well as
49:03 for the Jew.
49:30 Listen carefully, friends:
49:44 Therefore, does it include the Gentile?
49:47 Yes. Did it include the Gentile in the New Testament?
49:52 Was it involved there? Listen very carefully.
49:55 Paul is preaching.
49:57 As he preaches Paul says:
50:14 Now listen carefully:
50:25 They heard about it and they said: "Praise God...
50:27 We're included! " See?
50:31 "We're included! "
50:37 Paul and his companions, they've made their way over to
50:41 Macedonia. That's Europe.
50:44 There at that time in history the Jewish people had
50:48 not settled much into Europe.
50:49 They've made their way up to the city of Philippi.
50:53 They're there for a number of days. The Sabbath comes.
50:56 Let's see what happens here in Acts the 16th chapter verse 12:
51:10 OK... no Jewish synagogue here.
51:24 They heard about these women that were meeting
51:26 out by the river. They went out and worshiped with them.
51:28 This is where Lydia was converted.
51:31 So definitely the Gentiles are keeping the Sabbath.
51:35 Listen... Acts 17 verse 2:
51:47 Who's he reasoning with?
51:56 Not just Jews... it included more than that...
52:00 in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.
52:05 So dear friend, yes... the Sabbath was involved
52:09 not just with the Jew but with the Gentile as well.
52:21 So put it down. God has never changed it.
52:26 It will never be changed.
52:28 If Jesus was going to change it, He had to do it before He died.
52:33 And you find that He said very clearly that He was
52:36 Lord of the Sabbath.
52:38 It even tells you that the Sabbath will be kept in heaven.
52:42 Listen, Isaiah 66:22:
52:53 Listen:
53:10 Hmm?
53:11 Because it is a sign
53:16 of an everlasting perpetual covenant.
54:01 Do you know what language Jesus Christ spoke?
54:07 Do you know?
54:08 Aramaic.
54:10 I'm going to read you a text from the Aramaic
54:13 translated into English.
54:15 Comes from Hebrews the 4th chapter
54:18 verse 9. This is what it says:
54:28 That's the way it reads in Aramaic.
54:30 "It is the duty of the people of God to keep the Sabbath. "
54:35 Now... Jesus wants to enter into a covenant with you.
54:40 A covenant is about a relationship.
54:42 Jesus had a very close relationship with His Father.
54:46 And you remember as He prayed there
54:48 in the Garden of Gethsemane He said:
55:00 Now folks, He's talking to His Father
55:03 and He's talking to His Father in very familiar terms.
55:07 That's the reason the Scripture translates that word
55:10 Abba 'cause we do not have a word
55:13 in English that expresses the intimacy
55:17 that that word Abba does.
55:19 The closest word we have in English
55:21 for that word Abba is Daddy.
55:25 That's the closest word we have.
55:27 So He's appealing to His Father here
55:29 in very intimate terms.
55:31 Abba Father. OK? It means a very
55:36 very close relationship. That's what it means.
55:40 That's what it stands for.
55:41 A covenant... It says that when God enters into a covenant
55:46 that's a sign of a relation- ship between you and God.
55:49 And it says that He comes in and He writes it in your heart
55:52 and puts it where? In your mind.
55:55 OK? The Scripture says that He's going to write His name
55:59 in your mind on your forehead.
56:02 That He's going to put His law in your mind.
56:05 Do you know how He does that?
56:08 Huh? Do you know how He does that?
56:12 This is how He does it, friends:
56:18 See... that's what's there.
56:20 See, it has His name right in the very heart of it.
56:25 And so that Sabbath represents... He said:
56:28 "Listen, that's My covenant with you; that's the sign
56:31 of this relationship that I have with you. "
56:51 God wants to enter into a covenant with you tonight.
56:55 He wants to write His law, put it in your heart,
56:59 write it on your mind.
57:05 Abba, Father,
57:10 let me be
57:15 Yours and Yours
57:20 alone.
57:25 May my life
57:30 forever be
57:35 evermore
57:41 Your own.


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Revised 2019-03-20