Covenant Maker [Part 2]

Pastor, author, and Bible teacher, Alan Wright. The pressure is off on me. I always thought the pressure was on me. I always thought I got to get up and read my Bible because I'm keeping my covenant oath to God. I got to pray because I got an oath to God. I got to live a righteous life because I got an oath to God. And guess what?

I can no more keep those kinds of oaths than the old covenant people could keep the old covenant oaths. That's Pastor Alan Wright. Welcome to another message of good news that will help you see your life in a whole new light. I'm Daniel Britt, excited for you to hear the teaching today in our series called Moses as presented at Reynolda Church in North Carolina. If you're not able to stay with us throughout the entire program, I want to make sure you know how to get our special resource right now. It'll be yours for your donation this month to Alan Wright Ministries.

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That's 877-544-4860. More on this later in the program. But now, let's get started with today's teaching.

Here is Alan Wright. We see in Exodus 24 that we read, it's ratified the shedding of blood. As they slaughtered these bulls, they sprinkled the altars, these 12 stones with blood.

The people were sprinkled with blood. It was a ratification in blood of the solemn oaths that were made. And the people are essentially saying, if I don't keep my part of this, then let it be as if my own blood. And what's amazing about it is God Himself is saying the same thing.

If I don't keep this to you and I don't keep my word, then may it be that my own blood is shed. And so it is that they have this covenant, and it is then confirmed with these elders that have a covenantal meal there at Mount Sinai. And all of this is the picture of the formation of the old covenant. Now the old covenant and the gift that God gave them in forming this covenant is absolutely magnificent. Even though Paul says in the New Testament that the law arouses sin and that we're not under the law and that legalism is stifling and all of that, which eventually I'll be getting a little bit more to today, despite the fact of having said that, the point of the giving of the law is the gracious mercies of God.

This wasn't God being unkind to Israel by giving him these rules to follow. This is the revelation of God, His love and His holiness. The Ten Commandments are really a revelation of who God is. He is love. He says, you want to know what love looks like? I'm going to tell you what love looks like.

Here it is. When He gives the rest of the law and He is giving to the people Israel, He's giving them the law, this is a wonderful gift because these people didn't know how to live. People don't know how to live unless God tells them how.

It's not born inside of them. People are bent towards sin and so He's revealing to them. I mean there were wonderful things in the law. Do you understand that God told them that they had to wash their hands before they ate food? And it wasn't until recent times that we even understood that bacteria exists. The entire ancient world had no concept of bacteria and here was God issuing laws that said that you to quarantine an infected person you can't touch a bacteria-laden corpse and you have to wash your hands all the time. People made fun of Israel because they washed their hands. Some historians say this is the very reason they survived is because most battles and military campaigns in the ancient world they would lose more people to disease than they would to the sword and yet these people are maintaining cleanliness.

They had all of these laws. These were a wonderful gift from God. The only problem was they couldn't keep it. They couldn't keep it. It's an astounding thing. And the more they tried to keep it the more it's like they couldn't keep it.

It just seemed like it got worse. You ever ever realized that? It's like if there's something that you weren't even having a problem with and then somebody brought it up and all of a sudden you got a problem with it. If I said don't think about a pink polka dotted giraffe you just thought about it.

There's no chance you would have thought about a pink polka dotted giraffe except I said don't think about a pink polka dotted giraffe. It's like my friend Dudley Hall when his boy David was having a birthday party when he was little and Dudley just wanted to experiment with this. He brought all the boys in about 10 boys gonna go play in the backyard. He said boys said go out and play in the backyard do anything you want to back there. There's a swing set, there's a sandbox, there's trees to climb, there's all this stuff. He said but you see that garden over there on the left? They said yeah.

He said what aren't they? I want you to don't spit in that garden. He said he just went inside sat next to the window just to wait and watch. Finally one little boy came over there looked left right look right right right into the garden and by the end of the party every single boy had spit in the garden. Do you think anybody would have gone and spit into the garden had he not put up a rule that said you should not spit in the garden? There's a problem with the law and that is we can't keep it and it's not just that we can't keep it it's that the fact that you put it up in front of my face accentuates the fact that I can't keep it and it actually arouses sin. Paul says it was a big dilemma this huge problem that there's this wonderful gift of the statutes of the Lord and the revelation about what love looks like about what relationships should look like what life should look like and nobody could do it and here's the worst part of it they had agreed by their own blood that they would they said we will do everything he said they said it again we will do everything sprinkle the blood cut the bulls share the meal we'll keep this covenant and they had not the heart of God the heart of God was and always has been and ever will be to pour out unlimited covenantal blessing upon his people to treasure them to make them a nation of priests who have intimate access to him to protect them to prosper them to love them to show them his chesed this is the heart of God but he was in a covenant with a people who were rebelling against him and making golden calves against him and running after harlots against him and worshiping in the high places against him they couldn't keep the covenant and they were throwing it in God's face it got so bad that at one place in Isaiah the Lord said I can't even hear their prayers anymore they're just they're just so distant from me and that's why it was so sweet that Jeremiah was prophesying but there's coming a day God's got a plan he has a plan wherein there's going to be a new covenant and it's not going to be like this covenant oh anybody that gets into this new covenant they're not going to say oh no the Lord no no they're going to know me all that I have spoken is going to come to pass and so it is that Jesus comes and he lifts up the cup and he says this is the cup of the new covenant an author of Hebrews says there's one mediator between God and humanity timothy reiterates it one mediator between God and people he is the high priest of a better covenant the new covenant that's what we're in but what makes it so wonderful when I became a christian it was wonderful I knew I was I was I belonged to God I knew that I really believed once I became a christian I was going to heaven I didn't spend a lot of time worrying about whether I was going to heaven I did have a sense that I had a relationship with God and thankfully I was taught from early on that it was important to spend daily quiet time with God to read my bible every day and so I tried to practice having a devotional life with God I was taught that fellowship was important accountability was important I was thankful that I was shown that prayer was important worship and all of this was was important and so when I became a christian I I had I had a sense that I belonged to God I had a sense indeed that I was uh I had a sense I was I was treasured by God I had a sense that when I read my bible and I would get up in the morning and I would read and have a quiet time that it not only made me feel more peaceful about that day but it just seemed that that my life was better ordered um I also as a christian decided that God had called me and his word to live a different kind of morality than than other people that I was around and it was important to me I wanted to have something of a witness in my lifestyle and I honestly didn't have any desire for a lot of the things I saw my friends doing so I'm not this is not me saying that I live some kind of perfect life or you know righteous I'm not saying that at all I believe me you've heard me talk about shame and inward problems and everything else but I decided that I had friends in middle school high school and they loved to just sneak out on Friday night and get a bunch of beer and get drunk and I decided I didn't want to do that I wasn't gonna do that I was a christian and I didn't have much interest in it anyway especially in college when I saw buddies that would go out and get drunk and come back and throw up half the night and wake up in the morning with a splitting headache that didn't look like they were having more fun than me so I didn't do that I was a christian and and also very thankfully I read in the bible that marriage is between a man one man one woman is for a lifetime and that sex outside of marriage is wrong and I made that commitment in my life that I wasn't gonna go around sleeping with girls until I got married and man I'm so thankful that I did that's a wonderful thing I tell you our culture doesn't value that this is not the time to talk about it but I'm telling you it's a wonderful thing not to have to worry about sexually transmitted diseases unwanted pregnancies and unwanted bonds with people all over the place I'm so thankful for that that was wonderful right so I learned as a christian that I'm in this new covenant relationship with God I did know I'm saved by by God's grace I wouldn't have said I'm saved by works but I did have this sense that that if I read my bible and walk in his statutes then it'll go well for me and that living by a different kind of morality was a good thing and and so I had all this and it was good there was nothing bad about that nothing bad about that but some years ago began to wonder what's so new about this I mean it's good don't get me wrong it's good and what I'm describing is probably what many many christians would describe is nothing bad about anything that I just described I'm just not sure it was enough that's Alan Wright and we'll have more teaching in a moment from today's important series ever feel like something's holding you back as if you lack an important key that could change everything is there someone you love who seems stuck you'd like to help them but how what's missing blessing we all need a positive faith-filled vision spoken over our lives you can learn how to embrace the biblical practice of blessing through pastor Alan Wright's new book the power to bless which quickly became an amazon number one bestseller after its recent release until now the hardcover book has only been available through retail sales but this month Alan Wright Ministries wants to send you the book as our thank you for your donation make your gift today and discover the power to bless the gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries this broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support when you give today we will send you today's special offer we are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries call us at 877-544-4860 that's 877-544-4860 or come to our website pastor alan.org today's teaching now continues here once again is Alan Wright I'm not sure it went far enough there was something I always felt like I was missing still something I felt like I belonged to God the old testament people in that covenant the old covenant you could belong to God I felt like that I could be his treasure person well he felt that in the old covenant maybe a treasure person I felt like that God had called me to live a moral life to read his word to walk in his statutes well he called the people in the old testament to live a moral life read the word and walk in his statutes I had my Christianity and it was good and I was glad I was saved but but I didn't feel like it was all that much different it felt the more I looked like just kind of a modified old covenant it's an old covenant with Jesus in it and and and what's so wonderful about it what I was realizing is that just it's good but it wasn't enough I mean it was good but but what I had in my life wasn't Paul saying we are more than conquerors through Christ I'm convinced that there's nothing that can separate me from the love of God and Jesus Christ what I had was good but it wasn't peter at pentecost the holy spirit flowing and power and thousands of people coming to faith what I had was good but it wasn't the apostle walking by and saying to a lame man silver and gold have I none but such as I have give unto thee stand up and walk what I had was something that was was good and it was solid but it but it wasn't this breathtaking thrilling joyous passionate powerful faith exploding type experience that I read about in the new testament I wanted that and I really didn't see this beloved I didn't see this stuff that's why I'm just telling this over and over again I didn't really see all this until about 15 years ago I preached for a year and a half on the kingdom of God and in the midst of it I came to the notion of covenant and I began thinking about covenant more and more and more and that wasn't until then I began to read more and study more and see more and revelation came more and more that I finally understood what is so new about the new covenant it has all the same elements of a covenant it's got two representatives it's got solemn oaths it's got promised benefits it's got shed blood the blood of Jesus it's got a covenant meal communion the lord's supper I could see all of that but what is it that's categorically different about the new covenant than the old covenant and when I saw it it was one of the most thrilling discoveries of my life and here it is simply put I'd always thought that my new covenant was like the old a covenant between God and me that God had made these promises and then I'd made my promises to follow him and God had promised these these benefits to me of protection and being treasured and I'd promised that I would glorify him with my life and I knew that the bloodshed was Jesus's blood and communion was our shared meal but I always thought it was between God and me and what I came to realize when I looked at it more carefully is that there is one mediator between God and humanity the man Jesus Christ what this means beloved is that the covenant is not between me and God the covenant is between the father and the son all five elements are there solemn oaths are made but beloved the oath that was made was not my oath the oath that was made was from the true human the true Israelite the one human being who was able to stand up and live a sinless life and therefore be a covenant maker on behalf of humanity Jesus Christ and the father said if you will remain obedient unto me even death on a cross then you will be highly exalted and the son said to the father I will obey you even in the garden of Gethsemane where he sweats blood and he said I wish this could be taken from me but not my will but yours be done and so the son makes the oath to the father the father makes the oath to the son and there are there are there are blessings that are promised the glory of God the father and the outpouring of covenantal blessing and exaltation of the son and all of it is ratified with the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ you see what this means what this means this means the pressure is off of me I always thought the pressure was on me I always thought I got to get up and read my bible because I'm keeping my covenant oath to God I got to pray because I got an oath to God I got to live a righteous life because I got an oath to God and guess what I could no more keep those kinds of oaths than the old covenant people could keep the old covenant oaths but when you see this it not only thrills your soul but you start realizing wait a minute this whole deal isn't about me and my faithfulness this whole deal is about the faithfulness of the son of God so what is my part my part is to surrender my life to him and what does Paul say in Christ we're chosen before the foundation of the world in Christ we have redemption in Christ we have forgiveness we have been seated with Christ what happens when you become a Christian is not that you come in and you make some oaths to God and if you keep them then he'll bless you what happens when you become a Christian is you realize that Jesus made oaths on your behalf kept them made them put his arms out on a cross and said it is finished and when he said it is finished he meant the covenant has been made and kept so when you become a Christian you don't become a new oath maker and a covenant partner you become engrafted into Christ the true one in whom the covenant was made and kept and when you're in Christ what happens is a miracle that you get all the blessings that go to the covenant recipient Christ you are a co-heir with Christ that's what it means you're a co-participant you get what you didn't deserve because you've been engrafted into Christ and what this means is it changes everything you want the shame lifted off your life this is it right here because I always had this sense well I don't quite measure up and I need to measure up and be fully acceptable and here's what I realized wait a minute this isn't about me measuring up in fact of the matter is if Jesus Christ can remain faithful for the rest of today I'm safe and I'm pretty convinced he's going to remain faithful aren't you the covenant's already been made it's already been consummated it's already been ratified and the reason we take communion the reason we celebrate the Lord's Supper is because we're just having the covenant meal in which we're saying yes and amen and thank you God for the new covenant I just it'll change your prayer life you see when you say in Jesus name amen you're not tagging on a little proper thing to say at the end of the prayer you're invoking the entirety of the new covenant I used to think that effectiveness in prayer was me having mental certainty that right now the thing that I hope will happen will come to pass that's not that's not faith that's faith in myself what faith is is I'm so rooted in the new covenant that I begin to pray and we want to pray for one another today and I see Jesus having finished it all made and kept in him so that the covenantal blessing of God comes spilling out of heaven without reservation you start looking to Jesus like that and he'll be the author and the finisher of your faith God's love is a covenantal love and the only way that he could ever show us the fullness of that so that we would be in a position to receive it would be to come to earth himself and keep the covenant that we would have never been able to keep Jesus is your covenant maker he's the new Moses and you are a child of the new covenant and that's the gospel alan wright and today's teaching on covenant maker unlock the power of blessing your life discover god's grace-filled vision for your life by signing up for alan wright's free daily blessing if you want to fill your heart with grace and encouragement get alan wright's daily blessing it's free and just a click away at pastor alan.org ever feel like something's holding you back as if you lack an important key that could change everything is there someone you love who seems stuck you'd like to help them but how what's missing blessing we all need a positive faith-filled vision spoken over our lives you can learn how to embrace the biblical practice of blessing through pastor alan wright's new book the power to bless which quickly became an amazon number one bestseller after its recent release until now the hardcover book has only been available through retail sales but this month Alan Wright Ministries wants to send you the book as our thank you for your donation make your gift today and discover the power to bless the gospel is shared when you give to Alan Wright Ministries this broadcast is only possible because of listener financial support when you give today we will send you today's special offer we are happy to send this to you as our thanks from Alan Wright Ministries call us at eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty that's eight seven seven five four four forty eight sixty or come to our website pastor alan.org alan one of my favorite scripture verses is first kings 856 there is not failed one word of all his good promise and someone the other day quoted that but they gave a totally different scripture reference and so i looked it up and it's there too and then i started finding it all these different places it's almost like the lord was saying if i've told you once i've told you a thousand times you can rest assured i keep my promise the old covenant was rooted in not only god's promises but in the people and their promises to god but in the new covenant the whole strength of your life is not based on you keeping your oath to god but on god keeping his oath to you it is about god's precious promises that are yes and amen and christ if you have been living your christian life just sort of in a modified old covenant let today be the day in which you let the glorious truth of the new covenant saturate your being and let the grace of god fill you it will change everything simply put other than just knowing jesus himself there is nothing biblically for a christian to understand that is more important than understanding the new covenant and why it's different than the old covenant and moses in the image of being the covenant maker is going to give us all of the foreshadowing of who christ is as our covenant maker daniel i you know how much this means to me and i want everybody listen up today because the new covenant and understand it will change everything in your life if you only caught part of today's teaching not only can you listen again online but also get a daily email devotional that matches today's teaching delivered right to your email inbox free find out more about these and other resources at pastorallen.org that's pastorallen.org today's good news message is a listener supported production of allen wright ministries