Covenant renewal
Deuteronomy 29:1-15
Introduction-
Turn to Deuteronomy 29:1-15. It is the fifth book of the Old Testament. I want to talk to you about a covenant, more closely, the covenant between each of us and God. Before we turn to the passage, we need to define covenant. We could not possible renew something that we don’t know what it is. Covenant as defined in the dictionary, is “an agreement, contract, a promise usually under seal between two or more people for the performance of some action.” Breach of contract- common law action to recover damages because the pledge of agreement has been broken. Covenantee- The person to who the promise of agreement is made.
Covenanter- The person who made the agreement.
Covenantee, (God) God draws up the agreement.
Covenanter- (us) we make an agreement to follow it.
Deuteronomy 29:1-15 Read and then pray.
Now, let that sink in a minute.
Moses gathers the people of Israel and says, you have seen all the things that God has done to free you from the slavery of the Egyptians. You have watched and saw miracles and great wonders of God. In fact , 40 years you wandered in the desert, your clothes and shoes did not wear out, and God met every need you had, including feeding you and giving you water.
What was the covenant?
“That God would be their God, and they would be God’s people” No idols. God would be first in their lives. God says “carefully follow the terms of this covenant” so that you may prosper in what you do Your leaders, your children, and even the people that work for you cutting wood. You are standing here blessed because I made this covenant, put my seal of approval (promise-His Word) and you have agreed to it.
(V14)
“I am making this covenant, with it’s oath, not only with you who are standing here with us today in the presence of the Lord our God, but also with those who are not here today” The same covenant God made with the Israelites, affected the Gentiles after the day of Pentecost, and affects each of us sitting here this morning.” I want you to understand something this morning God takes His covenant with us seriously He expects us to take that covenant serious also Chapter 28 of Deuteronomy, God describes clearly that there is blessings upon us for obedience and curses or consequences for disobedience.
The Lord told the Nation of Israel:
• I will grant that your enemies that come up against you be defeated.
• I will send blessing on your barns and everything you put your hand to.
• I will establish you as holy people.....If you keep my commandments and walk in my ways.
For disobedience
• your country will be cursed.
• Your basket will not be full.
• My hand of blessing will be taken away.
It was an hour of decision. Israel, do you want the blessings or consequences of God, because how you respond will determine the outcome. If there was a day for our Nation to repent, it is today. To renew our covenant to God. That is what Moses faced. Stubborn, stiff-necked people, hard hearted people who stood before God and said I want your blessings but I do not want to adhere to your word. I want the promises and the promised land, and I am not really afraid of the consequences of my actions. Moses was clearly the man God used to share the covenant. Moses was a type of Christ, he was the mediator of the covenant. Today, on the other side of the cross- Jesus Christ is the mediator for us. He is the mediator of the new covenant of grace. God is a covenant God Time will not let me go into detail. God had a covenant with Adam. God had a covenant with Noah. God had a covenant with Abraham. God had a covenant with David. When Jesus said “It is finished”, he completed the covenant man has with God and Jesus Christ was the mediator. All the covenants God made with man was always that Jesus Christ is the foundation of all God’s actions. Christ was the second Adam. The one who redeemed fallen man. Christ was the ultimate sacrifice. As Abraham put Isaac on the altar. God is a covenant God and Jesus Christ has always been the mediator between God and man.
The importance of the covenant is this. It answers some important questions we have.
•Does God relate to man?
• How can man establish a relationship with God?
• There cannot be a one-sided relationship between a perfect God and sinful man.
Before Christ, the Old Testament was a book of covenant. The sacrificial blood offering to God. After Christ on the cross, the ultimate sacrifice, “It is Finished” is the covenant of our
relationship to Christ and His atoning blood. Righteousness is a covental word. Righteousness is ascribed as a man or women who living in a right relationship to God. Outside of God we cannot be righteous.
Do you know what an Agnostic is? It is a person who believes in God, and that is where it stops.
• They believe God doesn’t care about them.
• They believe that God doesn’t care what you do.
• They believe that God doesn’t care if you talk to him.
They believe he is just out there He/she may or may not have created everything, but he does not want to have anything to do with his creation.
Society, by definition are becoming Agnostic
•Believe there is a God out there, and believe that is enough. That He won’t hold us accountable because He doesn’t make himself available to us. That is not what the Bible says God made the first move toward man And He desires to have a personal relationship with each one of us.
Let’s look here-
since the beginning of time, God tried to bridge the gap between Him and man. And in that time..man has always put the blame on someone else. “It’s the women’s fault, it was the serpent’ all the way to the Israelites crying out to God in Egypt and God delivering them. “You brought us out here to die” 40 years God let them wander and the complainers died All the while God met their needs. Prior to that- Israelites had purpose Their purpose was to get to the promise land of God and build a new life with their God.
29:1- “These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites. Today’s words- The is the term of the contract the Lord commanded to each of us.
Listen to me;
The covenant or contract that Jesus made for our salvation is free...absolutely free It is not based on what we do, you cannot earn it, it is based entirely on what Christ did for us. Here’s the agreement- I provided everything for salvation. You have to accept it For your sin, I have provided redemption. When you accept it, truly in you heart. Your side of the agreement- Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior of your life. No other God Jesus is first in your lives Put another way- The rainbow was God’s Noahic covenant. God promised to never flood the entire Earth again. Circumcision was the Abrahamic covenant. That He would be the father to all Nations. We as believers made a covenant agreement with God that He will be our God and we will be His people.
Wind this down
Scriptures to think about.
“For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast” Ephesians 2:8-9
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” 1 Timothy 2:5
“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh; how much more shall the blood of Christ , who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause he is the mediator of the New Testament , that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance”
The covenant was needed.
•Because people’s hearts were hard.
•They wanted to do their own thing.
• They closed their minds to the things of God.
• They disobeyed the commandments of God.
The covenant embraced every person who stands in the presence of God.
“All of the Israelites stood before God as Moses proclaimed the terms of the covenant to them. Standing there were the leaders, elders, officers, men, children, wives, and foreigners. That about covers ALL.
Closing:
If you sign a contract and attempt to change the rules, there is a consequence. If you do not read all the contract, it is your fault.
“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory; and before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one from another. As a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And he shall set his sheep on his right and the goats on the left”
sounds to me like he is serious about His covenant.
•It is never to late as long as you have breath left in your body. God initiates the relationship. “We love him because He first loved us”
Altar Call
In your bulleting this morning is a tear off portion of the sermon notes. It simply says that you want to renew or confirm your covenant with the Lord. You do not have to say anything this morning, or even sign that piece of paper, but if that is you this morning, I would like you to simply put that slip of paper in this offering plate. When everyone who is coming has come, we will have a time of prayer and you will be dismissed.
