WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:02.640 We are finishing up a series today called The Gospel. 00:00:02.959 --> 00:00:04.480 We've been in this series for two months. 00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:06.480 And I'm just gonna say this from the front end. 00:00:06.639 --> 00:00:11.599 I have spoken longer every Sunday throughout this series than ever before. 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:14.800 And I pray that I never will talk this long again on a regular basis. 00:00:14.880 --> 00:00:16.559 And if you want to clap, I'm okay with that. 00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:17.280 I don't mind. 00:00:17.519 --> 00:00:18.480 I understand. 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:22.719 Yay! Someone actually audibly said yay. 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:24.640 That's okay. 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:26.160 I'm with you. 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:28.559 Sometimes I bite off more than I can chew. 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:29.839 I don't know if you do that as well. 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:34.240 And so when we started this series, the idea was we're gonna go through the entire story of the Bible. 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:38.399 We're gonna hit on all the major movements, all the major you know, swings, all the major plot points. 00:00:38.479 --> 00:00:39.840 We're gonna hit on that in eight weeks. 00:00:40.079 --> 00:00:42.640 Whole story of the Bible, thousands of years, eight weeks. 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:43.520 We can do this. 00:00:43.679 --> 00:00:47.600 And uh we can, provided I have about an hour on a Sunday morning to talk. 00:00:47.759 --> 00:00:50.000 Um some of you look scared. 00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:51.439 I'm gonna do my best. 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:52.719 That's all I can that's all I can do. 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:53.039 Okay? 00:00:53.119 --> 00:00:53.600 That's all I can do. 00:00:53.679 --> 00:00:54.479 I'm gonna do my best. 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:56.079 I say all that to say this. 00:00:56.719 --> 00:01:05.760 I believe what we've been talking about for the last two months is really important, and I appreciate all of you who've been here because we want to understand this story that we're part of. 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:13.760 You know, it's so hard for us to play the role that God has asked us to play, to be part of the story that God is creating if we don't really understand the story that we're in. 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:15.359 And that's the whole point of this series, by the way. 00:01:15.519 --> 00:01:17.599 The word gospel, it means it means good news. 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:18.879 It's the message of Jesus. 00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:22.959 And really, it's the whole story that God has been telling from the very beginning of human history. 00:01:23.120 --> 00:01:30.000 It's a story that He's invited us into, He's asked us to play a part, but so often we don't get the story, and so we don't really know what to do. 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:32.239 We want to eliminate that confusion. 00:01:32.319 --> 00:01:37.040 We want to, as much as possible, as much as humanly possible, we want to understand the story we're in. 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:43.680 That's why we've been going through the whole story of the Bible, and it has been a lot, and it has been, for me at least, really, really good. 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:48.799 For some of us, it's been a reminder, for some of us it's been new things, new ideas. 00:01:49.359 --> 00:01:56.640 But when we know the story, and when it clicks, we have a chance to say yes and to go forward with God aggressively, passionately. 00:01:56.719 --> 00:01:57.920 That's what we want to see happen. 00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:04.159 And what we've done to cover all this ground in such a short amount of time is we've broken the story of the Bible into eight chapters. 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:05.519 They all begin with the letter C. 00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:06.719 We have creation. 00:02:06.879 --> 00:02:10.159 From creation, we went to a crash where everything sort of fell apart. 00:02:10.319 --> 00:02:12.159 From crash, we go to covenant. 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:18.159 This this old agreement, this old relationship that man had with God that was very rules-based and ritual-based and all that. 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:19.439 We talked about that several weeks ago. 00:02:19.599 --> 00:02:21.199 From covenant, we got to Christ. 00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:22.960 The word Christ means Messiah. 00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:28.000 Jesus was our promised Messiah, someone who could free us, do things that we couldn't do ourselves. 00:02:28.159 --> 00:02:29.599 From Christ, we went to the cross. 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:31.120 We talked about what Jesus did there. 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:32.960 From cross, we went to conquer. 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:38.879 Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus conquered the grave, the cross did not conquer him, he conquered the cross. 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:42.719 From conquer, we went to creation, but a new kind of creation. 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:46.000 We become new creations, new people when we give our lives to Jesus. 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:47.759 He begins to remake us, to make us new. 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:48.960 We talked about that last week. 00:02:49.120 --> 00:02:51.840 Finally, today, we get to a new covenant. 00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:57.919 The word covenant is not a word we use in our day-to-day vernacular, but neither is the word vernacular. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:02:59.039 So, whatever. 00:02:59.199 --> 00:03:06.560 Um a covenant is more than a contract, it's like a sacred personal agreement between two people, between two parties. 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:11.280 It's something much, much, much more personal and sacred than like a contract. 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:14.000 And in our world, we might look at marriage as a covenant. 00:03:14.080 --> 00:03:16.240 That would be an example of what a covenant should be. 00:03:16.319 --> 00:03:17.919 It's it's a lifelong commitment. 00:03:18.319 --> 00:03:23.280 And the Bible is full of examples of God entering into covenant relationships with us. 00:03:23.520 --> 00:03:26.960 Where God says, Hey, look, if you will do this, I will do this. 00:03:27.759 --> 00:03:31.360 We see a covenant that God makes with Noah where he promises to never flood the world again. 00:03:31.439 --> 00:03:40.479 We see a covenant with a man named Abraham where God says, Look, I'm gonna adopt you and I'm gonna make you and your family my people, and I'm gonna bring blessing to the entire earth through your family. 00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:42.400 And Jesus came from that family. 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:47.919 There's several covenants in the Bible between God and people, but there's really two that we tend to focus on. 00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:55.599 There's the covenant that we're in right now with Jesus, if we have given our lives to him, and there's this covenant that we often call the old covenant or the law. 00:03:55.759 --> 00:04:03.280 And it's a covenant that God gave to a man named Moses, and it defined the way that people interacted with God for a thousand plus years. 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:07.680 And it's interesting because if you're familiar with the old covenant, it seems really harsh and really hard. 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:11.840 It almost seems like God was in a really bad mood the day that he came up with that covenant. 00:04:11.919 --> 00:04:13.360 And that happens sometimes at my home. 00:04:13.439 --> 00:04:20.720 I don't know about you, but I'll just wake up and I'm not in the best mood, and my kids are making noise like they do all the time, but for some reason I'm like, that's it. 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:24.879 From now on, it's gonna be quiet in here and clean, it's gonna be clean. 00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:27.120 Pick up your toys, stop talking. 00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:28.720 I've had enough. 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:36.800 And it seems like maybe that's the mood God was in when he gave us the old covenant, because it's all these laws and these rules and these rituals, and it just seems like so much. 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:40.800 And then we look at Jesus and he just seems so laid back and so chill. 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:46.560 And his covenant is about love and forgiveness and mercy and all these beautiful things, and we're like, what happened? 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:52.959 Is it a different God, or did God just wake up on the right side of his version of a king-sized bed or whatever? 00:04:53.120 --> 00:04:54.399 Like, what happened? 00:04:54.639 --> 00:05:00.639 And the reality is these two covenants, they're not they're not in stark contrast to one another like we think. 00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:03.199 They both serve a very important purpose. 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:08.160 God very much wants us to live in this covenant that He's given us now through Jesus. 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:09.199 We're gonna talk about that today. 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:10.720 We're gonna look at what that is. 00:05:11.120 --> 00:05:14.000 But if we didn't have the old covenant, we wouldn't be ready for the new. 00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:20.480 The old covenant was meant to get us prepared, to help us realize how desperately we need the help that He gives. 00:05:20.720 --> 00:05:28.800 And so I could talk on and on and on, as you know, about all this, but throughout the course of this series, we've been looking at these videos by a group called the Bible Project. 00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:30.959 Have I told you guys about the Bible Project yet? 00:05:31.279 --> 00:05:32.639 Are you aware of these people? 00:05:32.959 --> 00:05:33.360 Good. 00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:34.000 I'm glad. 00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:39.839 So the Bible Project is a group of people who uh make these incredible videos and help people understand the Bible. 00:05:39.920 --> 00:05:40.800 That's why they exist. 00:05:40.959 --> 00:05:44.000 They exist to literally make the Bible relatable and understandable. 00:05:44.160 --> 00:05:46.399 They have a mobile app, they have all these videos, it's awesome. 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:51.519 By the way, if you download the His Hands Church mobile app, we have a link in that app to all their stuff. 00:05:51.680 --> 00:05:52.399 It's great. 00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:55.920 A lot of our small groups use it as a teaching tool, it's just fantastic. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:05.759 And so I want to show you guys one more, one more Bible project video, and I commit to this being the last video I show you for a duration of at least three weeks. 00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:08.480 That's as long as I'm willing to commit. 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:09.040 Okay? 00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:17.600 But this video really sums up what the old covenant was and how it leads into this new covenant, this new agreement between us and God that we're gonna look at today. 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:20.560 So let's watch this and then we'll come back together. 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:24.399 You're most likely familiar with the ten commandments in the Bible. 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:29.120 Stuff we generally take as good advice: don't murder, don't steal, honor your parents. 00:06:29.279 --> 00:06:30.000 The list goes on. 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:31.439 And those are just the first ten. 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:39.839 They're actually a total of 613 commands, all given to ancient Israel, found in the first five books of the Bible, which in Hebrew are called the Torah. 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:46.240 Now the word Torah is usually translated in English as the law, because it has all of these laws in it. 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:51.120 And as you read through them, you wonder, am I supposed to obey some of these, all of these? 00:06:51.279 --> 00:06:53.439 I mean, what's the purpose of the law? 00:06:53.680 --> 00:07:06.480 Well, that translation is kind of confusing because while the Torah has laws in it, the book itself is fundamentally a story about how God is creating new kinds of people who are fully able to love God and love others. 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:12.079 And when Jesus taught about the Torah, he said that he was bringing that story to its fulfillment. 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:15.279 So walk me through the story and how it's fulfilled. 00:07:15.519 --> 00:07:19.199 So the story begins with God creating humanity who rebels. 00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:28.319 And God chooses Abraham to bless all of the nations through his family, who end up in slavery down in Egypt, and so God rescues them. 00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:32.399 Then at Mount Sinai, God makes a covenant with Israel, like an agreement. 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:36.639 And all of the laws that Moses gives to Israel are the terms of that agreement. 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:38.079 They're like a constitution. 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:43.199 And so some of the laws they're about rituals and customs that set Israel apart from the nations. 00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:50.720 Other laws are about social justice or morality, and by following these, Israel would show the other nations what God is like. 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:55.839 Okay, so the rest of the Torah is just the complete list of laws that Moses gives Israel? 00:07:56.399 --> 00:07:59.040 No, the rest of the Torah just continues the story. 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:09.120 And the 613 commands are only a selection from that original constitution, and even these have been broken up and placed as strategic points within the story. 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:12.319 Now pay attention, because you'll see a really clear pattern. 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:14.319 Moses gives the first laws to Israel. 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:16.879 Yeah, don't worship other gods, don't make idols. 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:20.720 And then right after that, there's a story of Israel breaking those very laws. 00:08:21.040 --> 00:08:22.639 Yeah, they worship the golden calf. 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:26.800 And so Moses gives some more laws, and then you get more stories of rebellion. 00:08:26.959 --> 00:08:31.680 Some more laws, rebellion again, some more laws, more rebellion, and you start to see the point. 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:35.679 Right, no matter how many laws, they're just gonna continue to rebel. 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:47.039 So at the conclusion of the Torah's story, Moses gives this final speech to Israel as they prepare to go into their new home, and he tells them, You guys, I know that you're not going to follow all of God's laws. 00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:49.279 You've proven to me that you're incapable. 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:57.919 And Moses says, the problem is that their hearts are hard and that they're going to need new, transformed hearts if they're ever going to truly follow God's law. 00:08:58.080 --> 00:08:58.799 And he was right. 00:08:58.879 --> 00:09:01.840 I mean, the story goes on to recount Israel's total failure. 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:04.399 They go into the land, they break all the laws. 00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:04.879 Right. 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:11.440 Now, the next section of books in the Jewish tradition are the 15 books of the prophets, and they reflect back on the story. 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:20.320 For example, Ezekiel, he said that if Israel was ever going to obey the law, God's Spirit would have to transform their hard hearts into soft hearts. 00:09:20.480 --> 00:09:27.840 And Jeremiah said that's when obedience to God's commands wouldn't feel like a duty, but they would be written deep in their hearts. 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:35.519 And Isaiah, he promised a future leader, Israel's Messiah, who will lead all of the people in obedience to the law. 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:44.720 Now in Jewish tradition, all of these books together are called the prophets, even the historical books, because they're continuing the story told from the perspective of the prophets. 00:09:45.039 --> 00:09:55.279 Okay, so we have the law and the prophets, and they're telling one connected story about God's desire to bless the whole world through a people, Israel, who it turns out needs a new heart. 00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:59.759 Yes, and Jesus saw himself as continuing that story. 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:07.200 So he agreed with the law and the prophets when he taught that it's out of the human heart that come the most ugly parts of human nature. 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:10.879 It's like the default setting of our hearts as opposed to God's law. 00:10:11.120 --> 00:10:16.320 But Jesus also said that he came to solve that problem, and in his words, to fulfill the law. 00:10:16.559 --> 00:10:18.960 So what does he mean there to fulfill the law? 00:10:19.279 --> 00:10:28.159 Well, first he said that the demand of all of the laws in the Torah could be fulfilled by what he called the great command that we are to love God and to love others. 00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:29.919 So that seems pretty easy. 00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:31.360 I mean, we all want to love. 00:10:32.159 --> 00:10:33.679 We think we want to love. 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:37.360 But Jesus showed how love is far more demanding than we realize. 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:40.000 So he quotes the law: do not murder. 00:10:40.080 --> 00:10:43.519 And he says, yes, not killing someone is a very loving thing to do. 00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:53.279 But then he also says that when you treat someone with disrespect, or when you nurse resentment against them, you're also violating God's moral ideal because you're not treating that person with love. 00:10:53.440 --> 00:10:57.440 And so Jesus said true love ought to extend even to our own enemies. 00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:06.480 So even though this command seems very simple, Jesus showed how our hearts are not currently equipped to fulfill even this basic command of God to love others. 00:11:06.720 --> 00:11:08.639 And that's kind of a doubter. 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:13.200 But where Israel failed, Jesus brought this story to its fulfillment. 00:11:13.360 --> 00:11:19.840 As Israel's Messiah, he fully loved God and others, and he showed all of the nations what God is truly like. 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:26.399 He did this through his acts of compassion and mercy, and ultimately by loving his enemies even unto death. 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:38.320 And after his resurrection, he told his followers that he would send God's Spirit to transform their hearts so that they could follow him and fulfill the purpose of the law: to love God and to love their neighbor. 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:41.759 So this fulfills the story of the law and the prophets. 00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:47.039 Or in the words of the Apostle Paul, the one who loves fulfills the law. 00:11:54.320 --> 00:11:58.000 Nothing like a little law to get your Sunday morning going, right? 00:11:58.159 --> 00:11:58.879 There we go. 00:11:59.039 --> 00:11:59.360 Okay. 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:04.240 So that really did a great job of summing up so much of what we talked about over the last several weeks. 00:12:04.399 --> 00:12:05.039 And it is a lot. 00:12:05.120 --> 00:12:17.440 I mean, we're covering thousands of years of history, but it all brings us to this place, to this concept of a new covenant, a new agreement, a new way to engage with God that we've all been invited into. 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:25.279 And I don't know if you caught it, but there was this phrase that he used in that video that's a phrase we're all very, very familiar with: the terms of an agreement. 00:12:25.600 --> 00:12:29.600 We live in this world that's always throwing terms at us and asking us if we agree to these terms. 00:12:29.679 --> 00:12:32.720 You can't move forward with something unless you agree to the terms. 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:43.200 Your computer needs an update, and so you hit update, but before you can finish the update, there's like this 400-page document you're supposed to scroll through and read, and then it says, I agree, I accept these terms. 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:44.960 By the way, does anyone actually read those? 00:12:45.039 --> 00:12:45.919 Like, would you raise your hand? 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:47.200 Is any one person? 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:49.519 Two people in the room, I think, at least one. 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:50.159 Wow. 00:12:51.039 --> 00:12:51.679 Wow. 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:52.960 I do not. 00:12:53.120 --> 00:12:54.080 I don't read any of that. 00:12:54.159 --> 00:12:56.639 In fact, some of them even give you the option to just say skip, right? 00:12:56.960 --> 00:12:58.480 Or it'll just say, Do you accept the terms? 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:00.320 And you have to click another button just to read the terms. 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:03.679 You're like, sure, I don't, I don't know what I'm agreeing to, but why not? 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:04.799 Who has the time? 00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:14.159 And so we live in this world where we're always agreeing to things, and then we often find ourselves in situations where we're like, man, if I had known the terms of this agreement, I don't think I would have agreed. 00:13:14.399 --> 00:13:16.559 And we regret the agreements that we've made. 00:13:16.720 --> 00:13:17.759 We do this all the time. 00:13:17.919 --> 00:13:19.360 There's many different examples. 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:24.480 One example I think that we'll all understand as soon as I say this is milk duds. 00:13:25.039 --> 00:13:25.360 Okay? 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:32.320 Now, before I actually get into the specifics of this, I just need to know, does anyone here really like milk duds? 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:34.399 Like you're like, hey, I'm passionate about milk duds. 00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:38.159 The first service had four people raise their hand. 00:13:38.799 --> 00:13:40.159 Not saying anything's wrong with you. 00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:42.240 Let me put it this way. 00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:47.039 If you're like, because some of you thought you were gonna get free milk duds, I can tell by the way you raised your hands. 00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:59.440 But like, if uh, I'm saying, like, if you've got your choice and you've got one candy left, like, there's only one candy you can have for the rest of your life, and you're like, I'm taking milk duds above all else. 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:02.080 Is there anyone who would say that, like you like milk duds that much? 00:14:02.240 --> 00:14:03.360 Okay, these two people here. 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:04.000 All right. 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:08.000 We actually do have three boxes of free milk duds, and I'm sure the more people raise their hand than that. 00:14:08.080 --> 00:14:12.559 So, ushers, if you guys want to bring some milk duds, there were two raise your keep your hands raised, your milk duds fans. 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:13.519 There's someone else over here. 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:14.320 There you go. 00:14:14.480 --> 00:14:18.240 We only have three boxes, I'm not a wealthy man, so we'll do our best. 00:14:18.960 --> 00:14:23.840 The guy at Quick Trip looked at me real odd as I bought six boxes of milk duds last night. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:25.360 I just said it's forgot. 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:26.720 It's forgot. 00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:28.000 Okay. 00:14:28.320 --> 00:14:30.399 You guys can go and eat your milk duds while we're talking. 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:31.519 I'm not gonna be offended. 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:36.000 I actually kind of prefer that because what I'm about to say may offend you. 00:14:36.879 --> 00:14:38.799 Milk duds are terrible. 00:14:40.320 --> 00:14:42.159 Oh no, no, no, hold on. 00:14:42.879 --> 00:14:44.559 They're called duds. 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:46.720 Let's just start there. 00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:51.600 Where else, anywhere in the world, is that a good word for something? 00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:54.559 If you say something is a dud, that's like a serious put down. 00:14:54.720 --> 00:15:03.120 I grew up as a kid in Missouri, we had a lot of land, we used to shoot off fireworks, and anytime my parents bought a firework that didn't launch, they would go, it's a dud. 00:15:03.360 --> 00:15:04.480 It's a dud. 00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:11.440 I mean, it's like it's like when they were making some other candy, something went wrong at a factory, and the guy came to his manager and said, We got a real problem with all the chocolate. 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:12.159 What's wrong? 00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:13.440 They're all duds. 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:14.639 Every single one of them. 00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:15.519 They're duds. 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:16.559 Should we throw them away? 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:20.240 And then the other guy was like, nah, just go ahead and sell them, people will buy anything. 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:22.399 Milk duds are terrible. 00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:24.080 And they're terrible not because they taste bad. 00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:26.639 I think milk duds taste great, they taste like chocolate. 00:15:26.799 --> 00:15:30.720 It's because eating one, they're chocolate and caramel. 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:36.000 I heard someone correct me, okay, but chocolate's on the outside of it, so that's what we focus on. 00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:38.080 We focus on the outside here at his hands. 00:15:38.159 --> 00:15:39.039 That's our focus. 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:39.600 Okay? 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:51.039 So you put a milk dud in your mouth, and you don't realize until you've done this the commitment that you've made. 00:15:52.000 --> 00:16:01.759 Because the time it takes you to chew one milk dud and then to get whatever bit of that milk dud is left in your teeth, it's like 15 minutes per dud. 00:16:02.799 --> 00:16:12.720 And so I just know this from times where I've bought milk duds and I've put a few in my mouth because I don't have that much time, and then all of a sudden I'm like, oh no, this is gonna take so long. 00:16:12.960 --> 00:16:14.960 I think that's why movie theaters sell milk duds. 00:16:15.039 --> 00:16:19.840 Because if you put milk duds in your mouth, there's no chance you're gonna talk or or ruin the movie. 00:16:19.919 --> 00:16:34.879 I mean, it's just if there was a list of terms, this is what I'm saying, if there was a list of terms on a box of milk duds that said, warning, you are buying milk duds, please understand that by placing a milk dud in your mouth, you're committing to no less than 30 minutes of chewing, your jaw has a high likelihood of being sore. 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:36.720 Are you sure do you accept these terms? 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:38.960 You'd be like, I don't know. 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:43.919 Because there's all this other chocolate, and I don't have to make that level of commitment. 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:46.000 I just I just don't like milk duds. 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:52.240 The beautiful thing is if you're eating the milk duds right now, you're not gonna say anything to me for like 25 minutes because you can't. 00:16:52.399 --> 00:16:55.039 You're committed, and so I can just say what I want. 00:16:55.360 --> 00:16:56.639 Let's move on. 00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:04.480 There's just all kinds of things in this world where we we enter into it and we don't really fully understand the commitment that we're making. 00:17:04.799 --> 00:17:09.680 And if someone had had walked us back before we made that decision and said, Hey, are you sure you want to do this? 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:11.519 Are you sure you accept these terms? 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:12.880 We might say no. 00:17:13.359 --> 00:17:16.640 It's very important for us to understand the terms that we're agreeing to. 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:18.079 And the same goes for God. 00:17:18.799 --> 00:17:19.599 It really does. 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:24.640 Because there are terms that go along with entering into a relationship with God. 00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:26.240 I mean, you see that all throughout the Bible. 00:17:26.400 --> 00:17:28.160 God says, Hey, I want to be your God. 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:31.680 I want to help you, I want to be with you, I want to support you, I want to bless you. 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:34.480 And if that's what you want, here are my terms. 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:40.799 And this relationship that we can have with God through Jesus, it comes with terms. 00:17:41.279 --> 00:17:44.400 And it's very important that we know our terms. 00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:47.839 The cool thing about God is He's very different than the world we live in. 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:51.200 I mean, it says it so clearly in Isaiah 55, verses 8 through 9. 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:53.519 My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the Lord. 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:56.000 And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 00:17:56.160 --> 00:18:01.680 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:17.039 God is not like this world, and so where our world is constantly trying to sell us a bad deal and hiding the terms in fine print or on some 400-page document in legal speak that you're supposed to scroll through and understand, God is very upfront and honest about his terms. 00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:25.680 In fact, God is so upfront that he gave us the terms of this agreement, this relationship we can have with him through Jesus, centuries before he sent Jesus. 00:18:25.759 --> 00:18:29.119 And we looked at this a few weeks ago, but I want to look at it now specifically. 00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:31.200 Jeremiah 31. 00:18:31.359 --> 00:18:39.119 Jeremiah is a prophet, and he's living in the time that the old covenant, the law of Moses, was the dominant way that people were approaching God. 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:41.759 That was what was dictating everyone's relationship with God. 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:53.440 So Jeremiah lives in that, he lives under that covenant, and God speaks to him, and he says, This the day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 00:18:53.599 --> 00:18:59.839 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and I brought them out of the land of Egypt. 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.160 They broke that covenant, though I love them as a husband loves his wife, says the Lord. 00:19:04.400 --> 00:19:07.759 But this is the new covenant that I will make with the people of Israel after those days. 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:11.519 I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:13.839 I will be their God, and they will be my people. 00:19:14.079 --> 00:19:22.240 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, You should know the Lord, for everyone from least to greatest will know me already, says the Lord. 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:26.799 And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins. 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:29.359 Those are the terms. 00:19:30.559 --> 00:19:31.599 Pretty awesome. 00:19:32.799 --> 00:19:41.920 Sometimes, whenever you read it in one big chunk like that, you can kind of miss how powerful each individual aspect of it really is. 00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:45.519 It all just sort of goes in one ear and out of the other. 00:19:46.400 --> 00:19:49.759 But I want to look at that, I want to break it apart and understand a few things. 00:19:50.400 --> 00:20:09.359 Because if we can really grab a hold of what God is communicating to us through these terms, I mean, I think it would affect us so greatly, whether or not we've been following Jesus for years, or even if we're someone just contemplating that, to really understand what we've been offered, to understand the terms that God has offered to us, to engage with Him, it's powerful. 00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:10.319 It's powerful. 00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:12.240 And I don't know about you, but I need something powerful. 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:16.079 Let's just take a second and remember to pray for the people still chewing their milk duds. 00:20:17.519 --> 00:20:19.039 They made a terrible decision. 00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:21.279 But we love them. 00:20:21.359 --> 00:20:28.880 Uh so number one, I just want to make this clear, this is kind of a small detail, but it says that this applies to Israel, to Judah, and so we might read this and go, well, how does this affect me? 00:20:29.039 --> 00:20:37.759 But Galatians chapter 3, verse 26, this is Paul, and he was one of the most passionate Jesus followers that ever lived, authored most of the New Testament. 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:40.799 He said, You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:45.680 And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 00:20:45.759 --> 00:20:51.200 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slavery free, male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 00:20:51.440 --> 00:20:54.480 And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:57.680 You are his heirs, and God's promise to Abraham belongs to you. 00:20:57.839 --> 00:21:00.480 So when we give our lives to Jesus, we become the children of God. 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:03.279 The Bible says that he adopts us into his family. 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:06.880 So it's not some beautiful metaphor that we're like his children. 00:21:06.960 --> 00:21:09.359 He says, No, you are my children. 00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:11.119 We become part of this family. 00:21:11.279 --> 00:21:14.880 So these promises that God is making to Jeremiah, they apply to us. 00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:16.559 They apply to all of us. 00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:18.079 And the terms are pretty simple. 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:21.839 Number one, he says, this new covenant I will make with the people of Israel is like this. 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:26.480 I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:29.519 This goes along with what we talked about last week, if you were here. 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:34.000 And if you weren't, it's pretty simple and also the least simple thing ever. 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:40.720 But God, when we enter into a relationship with Him and we put our faith in Jesus, He gives us His Spirit. 00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:45.279 He brings us to life by giving us His actual Spirit. 00:21:45.359 --> 00:21:52.079 He becomes part of us, He joins with us, and He empowers us to become the people that we were meant to be. 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:56.799 He begins to remake us in His image, to make us the way we're supposed to be. 00:21:57.759 --> 00:22:03.599 And so when Jeremiah writes this, what God God is saying is, hey, look, I'm gonna do something in your heart that's gonna change you. 00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:09.599 And you're gonna be like someone who wakes up in the morning and desires what is good. 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:11.839 You're gonna desire what is best. 00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:15.279 Because we don't naturally do that. 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:25.839 To a certain degree, there are certain things that we only do naturally in our human nature because we know that if we if we were to do the opposite, there would be a consequence. 00:22:26.079 --> 00:22:27.680 It's like the speed limit. 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:33.680 I drove behind someone on 575 actually going the speed limit the other day, and it made me so angry. 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:38.960 Because we all know you go 15 miles over that speed limit. 00:22:39.200 --> 00:22:42.720 The number 55 is there so that you go 70. 00:22:42.960 --> 00:22:43.599 We know that. 00:22:43.680 --> 00:22:46.480 And to actually go 55 on 575 is dangerous. 00:22:46.559 --> 00:22:47.599 It's incredibly dangerous. 00:22:47.680 --> 00:22:49.279 So if that's you, speed it up. 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:50.160 Come on. 00:22:50.640 --> 00:22:51.359 Trying to do. 00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:56.799 Every time I make a joke about that, I remember that we have several police officers that go to our church. 00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:03.440 And uh, you know, I'm just gonna say I drive a Toyota Scion, and please don't pull me over. 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:05.519 But what I say. 00:23:07.039 --> 00:23:11.680 No, there's just certain things that we only do because we're trying to avoid, trying to avoid being punished. 00:23:11.759 --> 00:23:16.000 There's some consequence we we don't want, but if the consequence wasn't there, we'd we'd do it. 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:18.880 I have three children, I see this every day. 00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:23.920 And there's certain behaviors and attitudes that my son Liam only has because he knows. 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:29.119 He knows that if he if he doesn't do what I'm asking him to do, there will be a consequence. 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:31.440 When I was a kid, it was getting spanked. 00:23:31.680 --> 00:23:35.759 My dad had this belt, and uh, probably had many belts, but it didn't really matter to me. 00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:44.720 I didn't really care about which belt it was, I just knew that if he was if he was you know past his limit and he reached for the belt, I would go like, I'm so sorry. 00:23:45.599 --> 00:23:47.759 And usually it was too late. 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:50.799 I don't do the belt thing with with Liam. 00:23:50.960 --> 00:23:52.079 I have spanked him before. 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:53.440 Spanking doesn't work with Liam. 00:23:53.519 --> 00:24:04.640 We spanked Liam when he was three years old one time, and you've probably heard the story if you've been here for a while, but Liam, I spanked him with my hand, and he turned around at three years old and said, That hurt. 00:24:05.119 --> 00:24:09.039 I'm like, Yes, that is this is the way this works. 00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:14.720 And uh and he said, God is angry with you for spanking me. 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:19.039 And no, it gets better. 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:27.440 And then he said, but I mean he's three, probably like three and a half, almost four, but still, he's like, God will heal me. 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:32.319 And if you spank me again, he will heal me again. 00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:38.559 So I was like, let's test that theory right now. 00:24:39.440 --> 00:24:39.759 Okay. 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:45.920 But it just, you know, I I know there's a lot of opinions about how to raise your kids. 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:51.039 I think those of us who have children will just tell you we're trying to figure out anything that works. 00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:51.920 That's all we're trying to do. 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:52.880 Just whatever works. 00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:55.839 Spanking didn't work for Liam, he just didn't register. 00:24:55.920 --> 00:24:59.359 He'd just turn and get mad and, you know, claim healing over the whole situation. 00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:05.119 And I'm like, I guess our church is too good at what we're doing to teach our children this, so we had to go to something else. 00:25:05.279 --> 00:25:08.880 Finally, though, finally, I have my version of my dad's belt. 00:25:09.039 --> 00:25:10.400 This happened recently. 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:13.759 I bought my son this thing called a Nintendo Switch. 00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:16.400 I don't know if you're familiar with this, but it's a new video game thing. 00:25:16.480 --> 00:25:18.160 I bought it for my son. 00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:22.240 I play it with him for quality time. 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:25.279 But I'm a grown man and I don't play with toys. 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:28.000 So I bought it for my son. 00:25:28.079 --> 00:25:30.079 And what's so cool about this is A, he loves it. 00:25:30.160 --> 00:25:31.119 It's really cool. 00:25:31.359 --> 00:25:33.680 But I have this app on my phone. 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:38.640 And this app can control the switch, and I can shut it down from my phone. 00:25:38.799 --> 00:25:41.440 And I can even set it like to not come on for another week. 00:25:41.519 --> 00:25:42.880 I can put limits on it by the day. 00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:48.240 I can say, hey, switch isn't coming on until Monday, and it doesn't matter what he does, he can go push the button, nothing. 00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:49.440 I can control it from my phone. 00:25:49.599 --> 00:25:54.319 So now my my phone being pulled out of my pocket, that's like my dad reaching for his belt. 00:25:54.559 --> 00:25:56.960 And Liam can be freaking out, and I can go, you know what? 00:25:57.039 --> 00:25:59.920 And I reach down and he goes, Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. 00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:03.119 Let's not get crazy, okay? 00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:04.880 Hold on. 00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:10.400 You know, he just no reason to involve the switch. 00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:14.960 Some of us had whole different kinds of switches growing up with our families, right? 00:26:15.359 --> 00:26:16.640 But it works. 00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:27.839 And he's an amazing kid, but he's a human being, like we all are, and there's just a certain behavior that he only engages in because he knows that if he doesn't, there's a there's a consequence on the way. 00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:28.960 It's fear-based. 00:26:30.319 --> 00:26:41.279 And what God is saying to us here in these terms, when he says, I will write my word, my instructions on your heart, what he's saying is, hey, look, it's not going to be this fear-based, consequence-based relationship. 00:26:41.599 --> 00:26:42.960 Yes, God does discipline us. 00:26:43.119 --> 00:26:44.319