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[0:00] Well, since everything else is out of order this morning, this might as well be too. So, we are talking about only one half of the New Covenant.

[0:14] What I am going to be saying for the next few minutes is going to come across as some kind of heresy to some of you. But I don't care as long as it's biblical.

[0:25] If you would open your Bibles, please, to the very first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. Just going to do a little searching around here.

[0:39] Find Matthew. And have you got it? First page. Now, turn back toward the Old Testament just one page before the New Testament.

[0:55] I'm not sure what is written on your page, but what is written on mine is the words, New American Standard Bible, New Testament.

[1:10] Does yours say anything like that? Does it introduce what is coming with Matthew as the New Testament? Does it call it that? In most Bibles it does.

[1:24] Now, who put that in there? Who put those words in there, the New Testament? Do you understand that they are not part of the original text?

[1:37] That they are not inspired? That all of the column references that most of us have in our Bibles on the side or in the column, they were not part of the original text.

[1:48] They were not inspired of God. That all of the chapters that are designated and numbered as chapters, and all of the verses that have verse numbers that help us to locate a text, none of those are inspired.

[2:03] Do you realize that 500 years ago they didn't even exist? There were no chapters and verses in the Bible? Oh, there was the Bible, but there were no chapter and verse divisions.

[2:14] It was just one long continuous. Why? Why? Because that's the way it was written originally. That was the original autograph. When God inspired these people to write what they wrote, they just wrote in a continuous text.

[2:32] And by the way, no punctuation, no exclamation marks, no commas, none of that, not in the original text. It was just a copy.

[2:42] That was what was inspired. And all of these other things, including the chapter verse divisions, the explanatory notes that many of our Bibles have, many of which are helpful, and all of the column references, none of those are part of the original autographs.

[2:58] It was just the text. Thirty-nine of those books were written mostly in Hebrew, but some in a little bit of Aramaic.

[3:09] And in the New Testament, it was exclusively Greek, which was the lingua franca of the day, a common language spoken. And I guess you could call Greek almost a universal language that existed during the first century.

[3:22] And it was largely due to the efforts of Alexander the Great, who had such an enormous influence in a very short period of time in the Mediterranean world in spreading the Greek language and the Greek culture.

[3:37] So what we have here that is called the New Testament in reality is not at all. And what I mean by that is, first of all, let's look at this.

[3:50] The word testament is never found in the original language. And it should never be found here in the English.

[4:01] But it is. And it's confusing and it throws us off. Because the word that ought to be used is the word covenant, not testament. Covenant.

[4:14] In the Old Testament, it's berith, which has to do with cutting, which means to cut. And in the New Testament, the word is diatheke. And in every single instance in the original Greek, it is translated covenant, not testament.

[4:33] And testament tends to throw people off because there's a verse in Hebrews chapter 9 that talks about the covenant or that the testament is not in force until the death of the testator.

[4:43] But as long as the testator is alive, then the testament is inactive. And what so many of our Bible scholars have done is they have brought our understanding of the word testament and wills and assumed that that's the way it was 2,000 years ago, 4,000 years ago, and read that into it and made that the same thing.

[5:06] And it wasn't right. And it wasn't true at all. When we look at a testament today, in our terms, we say somebody has drawn up a last will and testament.

[5:17] But as long as that person is alive, the items that are designated by the testator to leave to those who are going to be the heirs of it, none of that's in effect, as long as they're alive.

[5:32] But when they die, then that last will and testament is put in operation. And I think many of our Bible scholars just assumed that that's the way it was in biblical days, but it wasn't that way at all.

[5:45] And what was required in biblical days was also death. But it involved a different kind of death of a different person.

[6:00] And it isn't to be carried over into our common usage of the term today. So let me explain a little bit what I mean about this. And first of all, I want you to go to Jeremiah 31.

[6:14] And bear in mind, if you would, please, that Jeremiah was written approximately 500 years before Jesus was born. And in Jeremiah 31, in verse 31, a familiar passage to many of you, I'm sure.

[6:36] It is a prophecy. Jeremiah is prophesying and he says, Behold, days are coming, declares the Lord. Now, let me just stop right there and say, The days are still coming.

[6:49] They have not arrived. The days that Jeremiah is talking about here are still future. He wrote them 500 years before Christ was born.

[7:00] And they still haven't been fulfilled. But the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast. And it will come about that as I have watched over them, to pluck up, to break down, to overthrow, to destroy, to bring disaster.

[7:15] So I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the Lord. In those days, they will not say again, The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge. But everyone will die for his own iniquity.

[7:27] Each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge. And this is a lot of culture involved there that we haven't time to go into. But verse 31 is the meat of it. It's where we're going. Behold, days are coming.

[7:39] These are the same days that he's talking about in verse 27. When I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

[7:53] Now, both of those are mentioned because at the time Jeremiah wrote this, Israel was divided. The ten tribes had seceded from the Union, just like the south seceded from the Union here in the United States in 1860.

[8:09] And there was ten tribes and they pulled out of the Union and they were located up north. And they are going to maintain the name Israel, probably because they encompass the largest population of the nation.

[8:26] And there were ten of the twelve tribes there in the north. And there were just two tribes that remained in the south. And one of them was Judah. That was the royal tribe through which the Lord Jesus would come.

[8:38] This is the tribe of David comes through Judah. And the other little tiny tribe of Benjamin, which was the smallest of all the tribes. And they comprised what is going to be known hereafter as Judah.

[8:54] They're given the name Judah, probably because Judah was the largest tribe and Benjamin was just kind of like a tag along. So you've got these two elements here.

[9:05] And God is making it clear that they are going to be brought together again. And he's going to do something special for both of them. And that's why he uses the terms, with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

[9:19] Now look at verse 32. Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers. You might say forefathers, because that was a long time prior to this.

[9:35] In the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, declares the Lord.

[9:49] But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put my law within them, and on their heart I will write it, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

[10:04] And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me. From the least of them to the greatest of them, declares the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity and their sin, I will remember no more.

[10:23] Now, what covenant do you think he's talking about that they did not keep? Yeah. It's what we refer to as the old covenant. The law of Moses, which they consistently broke.

[10:38] They got into idolatry and every kind of sin and immorality that you can imagine. And God had to chasten them a number of times. And one time he even brought a pagan Babylonian horde against them to carry them away into captivity for 70 years.

[10:53] Because God finally got fed up with their idolatry. And that cured them of idolatry. But what about this new covenant that he's talking about here?

[11:06] Where do you see that? You don't see it anywhere. It doesn't exist. The new covenant has never come into force.

[11:18] It is still non-existent. There is no new covenant. And being translated in your vernacular, there is no New Testament.

[11:32] There is just one half of a covenant. But we are so grateful for that one half.

[11:44] Because we got in on it. This covenant that Jeremiah is talking about has never yet come to pass.

[11:56] It's still in limbo. I want you to turn over just a couple of references. If you would please to Jeremiah 32 and verse 42. Jeremiah 32 verse 42.

[12:11] For thus says the Lord, just as I brought all this calamity on this people, so I am going to bring on them all the good that I am promising them.

[12:26] And fields shall be brought in this land of which you say it is a desolation. It is a desolation.

[12:43] Without man or beast, it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. And I'm sorry, that is not the reference I'm looking for. Because the reference I'm looking for still refers to the covenant.

[12:56] Maybe it's 33. I can't read my own writing is the problem. Well, anyway. Go to Ezekiel 37. We'll skip that one.

[13:07] But I just want you to log it that there is another there in Jeremiah. And somebody can find it. Ezekiel 37 and verse 24. And my servant David will be king over them.

[13:25] And they will all have one shepherd. And they will walk in my ordinances and keep my statutes and observe them. Now, let me inject a question here. When Ezekiel wrote this, where was David?

[13:38] He's saying, David will be king over them. Where is David when Ezekiel wrote this? He's dead. Dead and buried. Long time ago. This is going to require a resurrection of David.

[13:50] Matter of fact, come Tuesday morning at 9 o'clock at our monthly Bible class, we are going to continue our study of the reign of government of Jesus Christ during the millennium.

[14:02] And David, the shepherd lad who later became king, is going to be resurrected and will serve as a vice regent under the authority of his son, born a thousand years after him, Yeshua HaMashiach.

[14:24] Think of that. David, David, the king, is going to be resurrected and will rule and reign under the lordship of Christ during the millennium.

[14:37] They shall keep my statutes and observe them, and they shall live on the land that I give to Jacob, my servant, in which her fathers lived, and they will live on it, they and their sons, and their sons' sons forever.

[14:49] And David, my servant, shall be their prince forever. And I will make a covenant of peace with them. It will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them and will set my sanctuary in their midst forever.

[15:04] My dwelling place also will be with them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel when my sanctuary is in their midst forever.

[15:16] None of this has ever come close to occurring. This is all future stuff. There isn't any way that this can be spiritualized, and you can read the church into this, because words mean things.

[15:29] Words mean things. And we do not have the right to play fast and loose with the meaning of words, particularly when the context justifies that we take it at face value.

[15:40] And that is precisely what is required. Now, come to the New... There it is. I use the term because it communicates, but it isn't accurate.

[15:54] It is not the New Testament. Well, if it is the New Testament, what is it? It is a continuation of the revelation of God that came after a 400-year period of silence when God wasn't revealing anything to anybody and Scripture was not being written by anyone.

[16:18] That's called the intertestamental period. 400 years between the time Malachi put down his pen and Matthew picked up his. Four centuries went why?

[16:30] No communication from heaven. So, when the Lord Jesus came on the scene after a 400-year period of silence, I suppose it seemed rather automatic to assume that, well, this is the New Testament because Jesus is on the scene.

[16:52] So, when you turn to Luke's Gospel, chapter 19, we find something that does not square with that. And let me tell you, Scripture has to square with Scripture.

[17:08] If it doesn't, something is wrong somewhere. We've got something wrong somewhere because everything in the Word of God fits. Everything in the Word of God.

[17:21] Now, we can't always make it fit. We can't always see how it fits. But that doesn't mean it doesn't. It just means that we haven't been able to discover it yet. So, here in Luke's Gospel, chapter 19, let's begin with verse 11.

[17:37] While they were listening to these things, he went on to tell a parable. Now, here's a principle of interpretation. Whenever Jesus gives a parable about anything, if you really want to understand the parable, you've got to ask yourself the question, why did Jesus give this parable at this time to this audience?

[18:04] What was the context? What brought about? Because he taught several parables, masterful items of teaching. But each parable was designed to address a specific situation.

[18:17] And I want you to notice why he gives this parable at this time. Verse 11, While they were listening to these things, he went on to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem, and they, and he's talking about the apostles, they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.

[18:39] What does that mean? That means just this. They were, at the time, on their way to Jerusalem. This is the last visit that Jesus will make to Jerusalem.

[18:52] And in just a few days from this text, he's going to be on the cross. None of the apostles believed that, or thought that for a moment. But Jesus knew that is exactly why he was going there.

[19:09] They didn't understand that. To them, it was unthinkable that the Messiah of God could end up on a Roman cross. That's just absolutely impossible.

[19:21] No way that's going to happen. What is going to happen is this. We're going to Jerusalem with Jesus. There's going to be this big parade, and all these people are going to line the streets, and they're going to shout, Hosanna to the Son of David.

[19:33] Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord. They're going to wave their palm branches, and give him a grand, glorious welcome. And, Jesus then, is going to march right up to the temple, chase out the Romans, and set up the kingdom of God.

[19:51] Is that what they've been praying for? Haven't they been praying? Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Please, bring the kingdom.

[20:01] So that, when the kingdom comes, your will will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. That's what we want. And that's what Jesus is going to deliver, and we're going to be with him, and it's going to really be something.

[20:15] That's what the text is saying. Look at it. They supposed, that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. Jesus knew, that was not, what was going to happen at all.

[20:31] And that's why, he gave this parable, and it says, a certain nobleman, went to a distant country, to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return.

[20:43] And he called ten of his slaves, and give them ten minas, and he said to them, do business with this, until I come back. But his citizens hated him, sent a delegation after him, saying, we do not want this man to reign over us.

[20:55] It came about, that when he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, he called, to him, in order that he might know, what business they'd done.

[21:06] So it's time for an accounting, and what Jesus is saying is, listen fellas, I'm not going to establish a kingdom, in fact, what I'm going to do, is I'm going to go away, and be gone for a period of time, and you are to do business, with the talents and abilities, that you have in my absence, and when I come back, I will assess what you have done, I will evaluate it, and I will hold you accountable.

[21:35] This is a parable, that they did not begin, to understand at all, when Jesus gave it. But after, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, and he's gone, it made perfect sense, and then they got in line, with the program.

[21:55] Now, if you will, look at verse 28, of this chapter, Luke 19, and after he had said these things, he was going on ahead, ascending to Jerusalem, and it came about, that when he approached Bethpage, and Bethany, near the mount, that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, go into the village, opposite you, in which you, as you enter, you will find a colt tied, on which no one, has ever yet sat, untie it, bring it here, if anyone asks you, why are you untying it, thus shall you speak, the Lord has need of it, and those who were sent, went away, and found it, just as he told them, and as they were untying the colt, his owner said to them, why are you untying the colt, they said, the Lord has need of it, and they brought it to Jesus, and they threw their garments, on the colt, and put Jesus on it, and as he was going, they were spreading, their garments, in the road, and as he was now, approaching, near the descent, of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude, of the disciples, began to praise God, now who are these, they are the disciples, they are already loyal, they are already on board, they are already followers, they are accompanying him, this is a great train of people, caravan of people, making their way, up the hill, to Jerusalem, must have been, some kind of a sight, joyfully, a loud voice, for all the miracles, which they had seen, that is things, that Jesus had done before, and they were saying, blessed is the king, who comes in the name, of the Lord, peace in heaven, and glory in the highest, some of the Pharisees, and the multitude, said to him, teacher, rebuke your disciples, and he answered, and said,

[23:34] I tell you, if these become silent, the stones, will cry out, and when he approached, he saw the city, and wept over it, Jesus broke up, and sobbed, and sobbed, he didn't just shed a little tear, he sobbed, he was broken in spirit, because he knew, he knew, what Israel, what Jerusalem, could have, and he knew, what they were turning their back on, and he said, if you had known, in this day, even you, the things, which make for peace, but now, they have been hidden, from your eyes, for the day, shall come upon you, when your enemies, will throw up a bank, before you, and surround you, and hem you in, on every side, and who will that be, that will be a man, by the name of Titus, he is a Roman army general, and he is going to be in charge, of the siege, of Jerusalem, he is going to break, the back, of the Jewish rebels, forever, and he will, crucify, hundreds, and hundreds, of them, so many, that they will run out, of wood, to make the crucifixes, and Jerusalem, is going to be leveled, the walls, are going to be broken down, the temple, is going to be broken down, everything, is going to be destroyed, just like Jesus said, in Matthew 24, that the day is coming, when not one stone, will be left upon another, and they will come in there, with huge, long pry bars, and they will pry up, those stones, because the fire, has melted, all of the gold, in the temple, and it ran down, in the cracks, and the crevices, and they are going to pry up, those massive stones, and leave not, one stone upon another, to get at that gold, that is under there,

[26:01] Jesus said, that is what is coming, and 70 AD, that is exactly, what was fulfilled, they will level you, to the ground, and your children, within you, and they will not, leave in you, one stone upon another, because you did not, recognize the time, of your visitation, and what was the time, of their visitation, it was then, it was then, when Jesus, was being presented, as the Messiah, of Israel, and those, who recognized him, were the ones, who were shouting, Hosanna, to the son of David, they knew, Jesus was from, the royal line, of Judah, and that David, the king, blood, flowed in this man, this Messiah, wow, what a scene, what a scene, and, he knew, they did not know, the time, of their visitation, kingdom, was not going, to be established, the king, was going, to be crucified, now if you can make, any kind of sense, out of that, you know, the crucifixion, of Jesus Christ, for the sins, of the world, is the most, humanly illogical, thing, that you can, possibly think of, doesn't have, an ounce, of human logic, in it, or just filled, with divine logic, but doesn't have, any human logic, in it, because human logic, says, the innocent, go free, and the guilty, are punished, that's the way, it's supposed to work, the innocent, go free, the guilty, are punished, well, who could you find, that was more innocent, than this, sinless lamb of God, and why, should he be punished, that doesn't make, any sense, it's the guilty, that you punish, not the innocent, you can't call, that justice, you sure can't, there's no justice there, there's a ton, of grace there, but there's no justice, justice, was poured out, on Jesus,

[28:07] Jesus Christ, took, God's, justice, by way of wrath, punishment, forsakenness, excruciating pain, separation, from the father, in a way, that we can't understand, that caused him, to cry out, why did you forsake me, why did you forsake me, the father, forsook the son, because the son, was laden down, with the iniquities, of the world, there isn't any, common sense, or logic, in that at all, but there is, so much love, and so much grace, that it just, tends to escape us, when we try to apply, our reasoning to it, why, why, why should God, do that, because he has, such incredible, love for you, that you cannot, begin to imagine, the love, that your parents, have for you, is nothing, compared to the love, that God has for you, and your parents, it's just stunning, it's incalculable, we must hasten on,

[29:19] I want you to look at, Luke 19, and verse, oh, well, let's see, for time's sake, maybe we'd better skip along, let's do, Luke 22, Luke 22, and verse 14, when the hour, and the hour had come, he inclined the table, and the apostles with him, and he said to them, I have earnestly desired, to eat this Passover, with you, before I suffer, now, let me set the stage here, this is the night before, this is the night, he's betrayed, the time of scripture, that we are reading about now, means that, Jesus, is about, probably about, 12 hours away, from the cross, they're here, in this upper room, having this last supper, and when they are dismissed, they will go down, into the valley of Kidron, and up the other side, and when they reach the top, of the other side, they'll be at the Mount of Olives, and that's where Jesus will be, in prayer, for that night, and the 11 apostles, are with him, but one is missing, that's Judas,

[30:44] Judas has an appointment, he has business to care for, and he goes to the high priest, and he says, I know where he is, and when he is, and you can take him, in the quiet of night, when you won't disturb the population, and nobody will know, because everybody is asleep, and will get a band of men, temple police, will go up the Mount of Olives, they can take their lanterns, and torches, and swords, and staves, and I will lead you to him, and you will know, out of the group of men up there, you will know, which one is Jesus, because I'll walk up to him, and give him a holy kiss, and the one that I kiss, that's Jesus, you take him, you got to remember, this is probably, three, four o'clock in the morning, still dark, that's what's coming, that's what's going to follow, this scene here, in verse 17, he took a cup, when he had taken thanks, he said, take this, and share it among yourselves, this was a common cup, you know, they weren't concerned about hygiene, back then, like we are today, we use these little individual cups, you know, because we don't want to pass around, whatever we might have, germ colds, or whatever, but he had a common cup, and everybody drank from that common cup, from that chalice, he had given thanks, he said, take this, and share it among yourselves, for I say to you,

[32:10] I will not drink, of the fruit of the vine, from now on, until the kingdom of God comes, do you know, Jesus never has drunk that, he never has drunk, of the fruit of the vine, because the kingdom hasn't come, but when it comes, he will then, and it will be an act of celebration, be a wonderful time, and having taken some bread, when he had given thanks, he broke it, and gave it to them, saying, this is my body, which is given for you, this do in remembrance of me, and in the same way, he took the cup, after they had eaten, saying, this cup, which is poured out, for you, is the new, covenant, in my blood, and in the same way, that animals were used, that animals were used, animal blood was used, to ratify the covenant, that Moses established, he sprinkled the blood of animals, on the tablets of the law, and on the people, and that was the ratification, of the covenant, that was the two parties,

[33:24] God, the party of the first part, and Israel, the party of the second part, and they both, signed on, to that covenant, that was sealed, with animal blood, and the animal blood, simply signified, a degree of solemnity, and seriousness, for that whole thing, because, something, had died, something, innocent, had had its blood, taken from it, in order to ratify, that covenant, and that added, an element, of seriousness to it, that it otherwise, would not have had, today, when we make covenants, we draw them up, on a sheet of paper, and we type them, and, and party of the first part, signs, and the party of the second part, signs, and you take it, and get it notarized, and it becomes official, well, that's not the way, they did it back then, nothing like that, this, was sealed, in blood, and when Jesus said, this cup, represents, the new covenant, in my blood,

[34:34] Jesus, was the party, of the first part, he provided, the basis, for the covenant, to be established, he, gave his life, and his blood, so that, he, could enter into, this covenant relationship, for which he was dying, where, is, the party, of the second part, they're absent, he didn't sign on, they never have, signed on, who is supposed, to be, the party, of the second part, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, Jeremiah 31, when I will make, a new covenant, with whom, a new covenant, with Israel, and with Judah, where, where were they here, well, they were there, but they were not on board,

[35:53] Israel didn't sign on, Israel, still, hasn't signed on, now, in our last session, when we talked about, the wrap up, of the end times, and we see Israel, in repentance, and crying, for the Messiah, to return, as they are, sequestered there, in Petra, where Christ, will return to, and they undergo, a period of introspection, and repentance, and, all, Israel, will be saved, but it will just be, a remnant, because two thirds, of Israel, we've already seen, worldwide, has been wiped out, it's another holocaust, during the tribulation period, and these people, are going to repent then, and, they're going to cry, and moan, and beg, and plead, in repentance, for their Messiah, to return, and they will know then, who it is, because Zechariah says, and they shall look, unto me, whom they pierced, and they will mourn, for him, as one mourns, for an only son,

[37:03] Israel has never done that, but they're going to, and when they do, Jesus, is going to return, and this is the, Revelation 19 thing, that we've already studied, in the second coming, that we'll be returning to, in two weeks, to wrap this up, and when he comes, he will, lead the charge, against the Antichrist, and he will, single handedly, defeat the enemy, merely by his spoken word, that will be the sharp sword, that goes out of his mouth, and, then there will be, the next stage, the victory ascent, to the Mount of Olives, in fulfillment, of what the angel said, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye here, gazing up into heaven, this Jesus, that is taken up from you, shall so come again, in like manner, as you have seen him, go into heaven, and Jesus will be there, at the Mount of Olives, and there will be, a glorious celebration, and you know what he's going to do, he's going to have, a cup of wine, and the kingdom, of heaven, will arrive, where is, that, new covenant, now, does not exist, it does not, exist, there is, no new covenant, now, there will be, there is not now, the old covenant, it's defunct, in so far as, needing to keep, the old covenant, it's defunct, it's out of business, none of these things, are required, you're not required, to keep the Sabbath, you're not required, to circumcise, you're not required, to have a kosher kitchen, none of those things, for Jews or Gentiles, and Gentiles never were, under the law anyway, never, never were, so, what we've got, by way of wrap up, is, what we call, the new testament, is in reality, simply, a continuation, of the revelation, of God, with updated information, that is not available, in what we call, the old testament, and we have a progression, of doctrine, and of information, that is developing, in the new testament, with a greater emphasis, on the spiritual, and less emphasis, on the material, such as you find, in the old testament, but the new testament, the new covenant, has not come into practice, at all, and the reason, is because, you have to have, two parties, to have a covenant, you have to have, two parties, to have an agreement, it's kind of like, it's kind of like, kind of like, real estate, buying, or selling an automobile, you got to have a seller, you got to have a buyer, takes two parties, and if you only have, one party, it's usually because, somebody's a thief, so you have two parties, and they make an agreement, and what Jesus Christ did, when he died on that cross, is he made, the provision, he laid the foundation, for, the reality, of the new covenant, in the shedding of his blood, and what he accomplished, in that first half, was the redemption, of the entire world, we are beneficiaries, of what Jesus did, in preparing, for the establishment, of the new covenant, but we do not belong, to the new covenant, we are not covenant people, no, no, we are grace people, we are not, in the new covenant, we are in, what the apostle Paul, referred to, as the mystery, we are, an anomaly, we are not Jews, what we are,

[41:03] is, we are Jews, and Gentiles, blended together, into one, new body, the twain, making one new man, Paul says, and there is, in Christ, there is neither Jew, nor Gentile, neither slave, nor free, neither bond, nor free, neither male, nor female, there is, complete leveling, and equality, in the body of Christ, and that's where we are, as Christians, we are, theologically, we are a bunch, of oddballs, we just came, out of nowhere, I mean, bang, here's this thing, called, the church, where did that come from, that wasn't, that wasn't prophesied, that wasn't, no, no, no, it wasn't, this is what Paul meant, when he said, the church, which is his body, which in other ages, was not, made, known, to the sons of men, but was hidden, in the heart, and mind of God, to be revealed, at a future, strategic time, and it will be, a bombshell, that nobody else, would have ever thought of, in a million years, but it was in the heart, and mind of God, all along, and he sprung it, he literally sprung it, in the book of Acts, and he raised up, he raised up, the last guy, in the world, that you would pick, to carry out, that mission, and it was that, ornery, persecuting, mean, angry, gestapo, kind of a guy, by the name, of Saul of Tarsus, and God, got a hold of him, and changed his heart, and mind, and made him, a flaming apostle, for the gospel, and he said,

[42:52] I'm putting you, in charge of this, whole new thing, while Israel, is set aside, in their unbelief, I'm going to go on, with an entity, that is totally, different, and it's made up, of Jews, and Gentiles, and what they will have, in common, is their faith, in Jesus Christ, so, this is a miraculous, thing, this is incredible, this is, and the thing, that pains me, is that so many, of God's people, just don't see it, and I guess, maybe, a big reason, that it's so hard, to see, is, it is a lot, harder, to unlearn, old things, than it is, to learn, something new, but this, is what, I've always believed, yeah, I used to sing, that song too, until,

[43:53] I got confronted, with a number, of truths, in scripture, that told me, Marv, maybe this is, what you've always believed, but buddy, you were wrong, are you, going to be, big enough, to admit it, and make the changes, or are you, going to hang in there, and say, but this is when, I've always believed, well, I don't mind telling you, it's been embarrassing, a number of times, because I've taught you, for 45 years, and I've taught you, some things, that were not true, and that pains me greatly, and I'm sorry for that, truly, because the greatest thing, in the world, is the truth, and when you discover, that you've been teaching, something that isn't true, you have an obligation, to admit it, and to change it, you know what that's called, it's called growing in grace, knowledge of the Lord, and knowledge of the Lord, as I've often said, none of us have this stuff, called doctrine altogether, none of us have, all our ducks in a row, we've all, operating under, a flawed theology, every one of us, every one of us, and when we get to heaven, we're all going to get ironed out, and some of us, are going to need, more ironing than others, but God is gracious, and loving, and forgiving, and God reads the heart, more than he reads the mind, and that's what enables him, to overlook a lot of stupidity,

[45:34] God looks at our intentions, God looks at our heart, and he weighs that, and that's worth a lot, so, I shared these things, with you this morning, and by the way, if you'd like a little more, update on it, we just finished, volume 40, of Christianity Clarified, and there's some on the table, back there, and by the way, anyone who wants, any of these CDs, they're all free, and you're welcome, to take anything, of interest to you, this is volume 40, and I deal with, track 18 and 19, with Israel, and the new covenant, and further clarifying, the aspects of the new covenant, and we talk about, how we are beneficiaries, of the death of Christ, and the payment, that he made on the cross, even though, we do not belong, to the new covenant, like I said, we are entirely different, Israel belongs, to the new covenant, but they're not even in it yet, because it's never been established, however, Jesus laid the foundation, for the establishment, of that new covenant, of which Jeremiah spoke, and there's only, one thing lacking, and that is Israel, and when they get, their act together, and sign on, the new covenant, will be fulfilled, in detail, and it will be, a beautiful thing, well,

[46:54] I've already taken, more time, than I intended, and we're going, to serve communion now, we want to advise you, that we practice, an open communion, which means, you do not have to be, a member of, Grace Bible Church, if you know, the Lord Jesus Christ, as your Savior, you are invited, and encouraged, to partake of, the Lord's table, and also, to be mindful, that we are to, examine ourselves, before the Lord, before we partake, and make sure, that our life, is well pleasing, to him, so if you will, open your hymnal, please, to hymn number, three hundred and five, we will sing, verse one, and as we stand, and sing, we'll ask the elders, if they will come forward, number three hundred five, I hear the Savior say, thy strength, indeed is small, child of weakness, watch and pray, find in me, thine all in all,

[48:17] Jesus, thank you all, all to him I owe, sin has left a crimson stain, he washed, with white as snow, thank you, would you be seated please, this is referred to, as the Lord's table, and actually, it is his table, it isn't the church's table, it's his table, so he invites all, who are in him, by faith, and his finished work, to partake, of these elements, and everyone, should understand, that partaking, of these, does not in any way, make you a Christian, and it doesn't even, make you a better Christian, if you are a Christian, it's just, the idea that, you are gathering together, to use, a physical symbol, that helps us, be reminded, that Jesus had a body, and blood, and the body was given, and the blood was shed, and these are really, poor representatives, of what actually happened, but they are designed, to be a reminder, and this is why, we do this, it is in, remembrance of him, and one would think, why do we need, these things, who can forget, what Jesus did for us, you know something, we humans, are capable of, just, dismissing from our minds, from our frontal lobe, a whole lot of things, that we ought to remember, and we get so caught up, with what's going on, in the world, and the needs, and the demands, and all the rest, we just kind of, squeeze out, some of the more important, things, and a simple thing, like this kind of, brings us back, to the reality, of who and what we are, and why we are in Christ, and what he did, to make that possible, so this is part, of our reflecting, and examining ourselves, before the Lord, and each of us, needs to do that, because he's the only one, that can look into our heart, and see what's there, and if there is anything, in your life, that you know, is displeasing to him, whatever it is, it isn't worth it, you need to do business, with it, and you need to, confess it, you need to acknowledge it, no, you don't have to go, to a person to do it, you just go to the Lord, but you might need, to go to a person, if there is a need, for apology, or forgiveness, if you've wronged somebody, injured somebody, hurt somebody, apology, a sincere apology, helps the healing, and it serves, to reestablish, injured relationships, because when we apologize, we can be forgiven, and that's a beautiful thing, that's what God does, but we have to acknowledge, that the need is there, so let's just take a brief moment, and reflect, if we may, in quietness of the moment, thank you, or loving Father, we do not begin to understand all that is happening here.

[52:18] But we know how fully and thoroughly you understand it and that's what matters. Each of us needs to have an open heart, open mind before you, willingness to be whatever you want us to be, wherever you want us to be it.

[52:34] What an incredible privilege is ours at simply making ourselves available to the God of the universe for whatever you want from us because whatever you call us to do, you will enable us to do and we are so grateful for that.

[52:53] So as we partake of these elements, help us to reflect on what really lies behind them and that incomparable price that was paid that none of us can begin to really appreciate no matter how many movies we see, how many depictions of the crucifixion and how horrible it was, none of us can begin to enter into what really transpired on that day.

[53:13] But we know that you saw the travail of his soul and you were satisfied. How grateful we are for that.

[53:25] Thank you for the presence of each one here today and for what these elements symbolize in Christ's wonderful name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[53:35] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[53:49]  Thank you. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.