The New Covenant And The Cross

Pastor Allan Kircher

Shell Point Baptist Church

6 April 2014

THE NEW COVENANT AND THE CROSS

Hebrews 12:18–27

Goal/message/Hope/Cross for Today

• Find ultimate stability/cross/Christ and/New Covenant He established, in the midst of an unstable world.

• Help you trust/stability/New Covenant when/world around us crumbles.

• Outline five aspects of New Covenant living

• Will help us detach from worldly things and attach to the cross.

INTRODUCTION: “What’s going on segment”

• Many years ago, Marvin Gaye penned/lyrics/song

• summarizing a number/negative realities/world

• Asking the question, “What’s going on?”

• He knew/something/amiss

• Bringing havoc on many dimensions within our world and society.

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Similar question/asked by Christians

• They wonder, “What’s going on? What is happening?”

• As we /look/landscape/society/which we live

• Day doesn’t go by where there doesn’t seem to be more calamity, more chaos, more confusion, and even more uncertainty.

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This uncertainty doesn’t just occur in our society, though.

• Countless/people who/looking/own personal lives/struggles

• Raising/question “What/going on/me? What/happening/my life?”

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Heb. 12 author/writing/Jewish Christians who/raising/very same question

• They/about/enter into/most climactic time their generation has ever experienced

• Jerusalem is about to be besieged by Titus and his army.

• Temple will soon be destroyed

• The dark clouds of despair have already gathered/horizon.

• Later/book/Heb. we even learn some have been imprisoned

• Others have had their property confiscated.

As you might imagine:

• Midst/pain/turmoil/disruption/uncertainty

• question that emerges is

• How is a person to respond to the chaos ensuing all around?

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1. LIFE BEFORE THE CROSS

Remember the Old Covenant Hebrews 12:18-21

• At Mt. Sinai, God established the old, Mosaic Covenant

• On Mt. Sinai, God spoke to Israel/OT Ex 19.

• Animals ratified the old covenant.

When God/come down/spoken prior/giving/Ten Commandments

• sight to behold/mountain began/smoke and quake

• thunder and lighting

• Loud trumpet blasts.

All/environmental aspects happened in order to let the people know how serious a moment it was.

• God’s presence/mountain shook/entire mountain

• Smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace.

• so much/people ran away/did not want to listen

• Even Moses himself trembled.”

God’s holiness/prevented/Israelites/approaching Mt. Sinai

• Any man or beast who touched/mountain would be stoned

• Even Moses was afraid to climb the mountain

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God’s goal is not simply to announce His presence

• To Lead you to fear, awe and trembling

• To such a degree you beg Him/leave because you cannot bear it.

• No/it is to announce His presence/to draw you close to Him

• He has something He wants to not only tell you

• but also to do in you

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• An enormous thunderstorm would develop outside

• turn off the television or the radio because

• “God is talking.

• Sit there in the silence as “God talks.”

• It is just thunder, but the principle holds true when things become shaky in your life.

• God is talking and He wants you to listen.

• While things around you may become shaky

When you fix your eyes on Jesus you will remember the promise of His covenant and that you belong to an unshakeable kingdom.”

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2. LIFE AFTER THE CROSS

Thank God/New Covenant Heb. 12:22-24

• Blood/Jesus ratified/New Covenant

• Because/cross, we no longer live under/Old Covenant

MT. ZION: Old Testament

• Seems equated/Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:31).

• King David calls Zion both/mountain of God/city of God

• Isaiah refers to Mt. Zion as the mountain in Jerusalem from which God would one day reign (Isaiah 24:23).

• Rev. 21:10/heavenly Jerusalem

• Mt. Zion will descend and God’s dwelling will be/earth/Heb 12:22

On Mt. Zion, we/introduced/New Covenant given to us by the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross.

It is under the tenants and truths of Mt. Zion that Christians live today

• Precisely because/cross/Christ we no longer live/light of Mt. Sinai

• Realize/display/God’s holiness on the cross Heb. 12:22-24

• God proved His holiness by pouring out His wrath on Jesus

Now we can approach God the Father with confidence because of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross

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NEW COVENANT: In Jeremiah 31:31-34

• God promised to institute a New Covenant

• He would write His law on His peoples’ hearts

• Forgive all their sins.

• Through/cross of Christ/New Covenant/been established.

• Jesus serves/only mediator/New Covenant between humans/God.

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You are not living at Mt. Sinai where:

• There is terror, trembling, insecurity

• You are being uprooted.

That/not your home/believer in Christ because of what Jesus accomplished at the cross.

• Why?

• Because Blood/Christ has orchestrated a New Covenant

• You are functioning underneath/umbrella/whole new realm

• Whole new way of life/thru Christ’s atoning blood

• God has set up a brand new arrangement

• He is covenantally committed to you.