What is your relationship with God? Or maybe I should ask, how
are you keeping your part of the contract or covenant you have
with God? Is it by going to church regularly, reading your bible
daily, or doing what YOU think is pleasing to God?
Today if you enter into a contract with
another person, there are certain terms both sides have to
achieve if there is to be a successful completion to the contract.
When one or both do not fulfill their part of the contract,
then the contract is considered void. When you accepted Jesus
as your Savior, a contract with God was formed. You agreed
to His terms of the covenant. You did not have the right to
rewrite certain parts that you were not comfortable with. It
was a contract or covenant that was offered to you and you
either accepted the conditions or there was no contract or
covenant.
Jeremiah (31:31-33) prophesied a long
time ago that God would establish a new covenant with Israel
and Judea. It was revealed to Peter thousands of years later
that this new covenant was not only for the Jews but all mankind
who would accept the terms of the new covenant. You are asking
yourself, what does he mean…terms?
Doesn’t believing in Jesus as our Savior save us? Doesn’t
the Bible say, “That whosoever believeth in Me shall
not perish but have everlasting life”? The problem
with that verse is the translation. The translators used the
word “believe” to take the place of… “ Whosoever
trusts in, relies on, and adheres to Me shall not perish but
have eternal life.” Those are the real terms of the
covenant. You follow those terms and God will fulfill His part
of the covenant by being here to guide you on this earth and
give you eternal life after you die.
The first verse of the gospel of John reads,” In the
beginning was the Word and Word was with God and the Word was
God”. Verse 14 continues …”and
the Word became flesh.”. Why is this important,
because the Word is our way of being able to comply to the
terms of the new covenant that we have to live by. It is through
His Word that we are able to trust in, adhere to and rely on
Him for our salvation.
Verse 24 of Chapter 12 of Hebrews says, “You have
come to Jesus, the one who mediates the NEW COVENANT between
God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which graciously
forgives instead of crying out for vengeance as the blood of
Able did. See to it that you obey God, THE ONE WHO IS SPEAKING
TO YOU. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they
refused to LISTEN to Moses, the earthly messenger, how terrible
our DANGER if we reject THE ONE WHO SPEAKS TO US FROM HEAVEN”. In
the amplified version of the Bible it reads with a greater
emphasis…(verse 25) “ So see to it that
you do not reject Him or refuse to LISTEN to and HEED HIM Who
is speaking to you NOW.
Lets read this new covenant. Jeremiah 33-34…”But
this is the new covenant which I will make with the house of
Israel: After in those days, says the Lord, I will PUT My law
within them, and on their hearts will I write it: and I will
be their God, and they will be my people.” Verse 34 continues, “And
they will no more teach each man his neighbor and each man
his brother, saying, know the Lord, for they will all know
me,(recognize, understand, and be acquainted with Me) from
the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord”. 1
John 2:27 reaffirms this prophecy of Jeremiah, “But
as for you, the anointing (the sacred appointment, the UNCTION)
which you received from Him abides (permanently) in you: (so)
then you have no need that anyone should instruct you. But
just as His anointing teaches you concerning EVERYTHING and
is true and is no falsehood, so you must abide in (live in,
never depart from) Him (being rooted in Him, knit to Him),
just as (his anointing) has taught you (to do)”.
God is saying, He is not trusting man with the new contract
with His people.
In Hebrews, the writer gives the example
of how the children of Israel were lead out of Egypt and were
taken to Mount Sinai. God intended to be God to His people
and communicate directly with them but they refused and begged
that Moses would be their messenger from God. The writer refers
to Moses as the “earthly
messenger” But the new covenant did not come with a stipulation,
in which another man could talk for God.
So this raises the question of the purpose
of pastors, teachers, evangelists, prophets and apostles. It
really isn’t confusing
if you can understand that God intended these people to carry
out a function, which results in the building up of the body.
They should be teaching the terms of the covenant to believers
and salvation to the others. I believe that some religious leaders
today have convinced the sheep, either intentionally or unintentionally,
that they are the only ones that hear from God. But this comes
into direct conflict with the covenant that God has put in place
with mankind.
History tells a pretty sad story of the actions of the early
church, not the ones of Peter and Paul, but much later. The church
rose to power because the leadership was able to convince the
people that they represented the will of God. Yes, Martin Luther
did help change the thinking, as well as the written Bible that
was finally made available for everyone to read. Sadly, for the
most part, people still relied on what the church leaders told
them. And, sadly, that is still happening today in a lot of churches.
That is why this concept of the new covenant may sound strange
to you.
The difference between you and me compared
to the writers of the New Testament is, they understood the
covenant. They all wrote of the importance of the Holy Spirit
and His guidance. Not because it was the “Christian thing to do” but
because for them, they had to abide in the Spirit to fulfill
their part of the covenant.
Nothing has changed in God’s covenant. He hasn’t
amended it. He hasn’t decided that whatever we want to
do is allright with Him; that different teachings by the different
denominations of today are going to be acceptable to Him. If
changing the old covenant with God didn’t work for the
Israelites, why would we think He would accept anything less
than the covenant that He created for us?
Mankind has always been trying to
be God and to do things the way we want them done. If you disagree,
read Jeremiah 5: 30-31 ”An appalling and horrible
thing has happened in the land. The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priest rule on their own authority, AND MY PEOPLE LOVE
IT SO! But what will you do at the end of it?” The
amplified version is even more frightening. “An appalling
and horrible thing (bringing desolation and destruction) has
come to pass in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, and
the priests exercise rule at their own hands and by means of
the prophets. And My people love to have it so! But what will
you do when the end comes?”
This is a warning for today’s church as well. If we are
not abiding in the new covenant by hearing the voice of God for
OURSELVES, then we are not apart of the covenant of God. The
leaders of today’s churches should be teaching this covenant
to the sheep. We should dedicate ours lives to learning to listen
for His voice. Why is that important? What did Jesus say, “My
sheep hear my voice and they follow Me.” We
have to realize He was speaking about the covenant? Remember
these scriptures, “In the beginning was the Word” …the
sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.”…I
will send you a comforter, who will lead you in all truths.” “Faith
comes by HEARING and hearing by the Word of God.” God
has never stopped talking to us. He can’t because it would
mean that He has broken His own covenant.
It is confusing because I believe God does speak through men
and women. It is these male writers of the bible that have revealed
these truths. I think where the church has gone wrong is that
they try to do things that they think would please God when in
fact the only thing that pleases God is obedience to His voice. “My
sheep HEAR my voice, and they follow Me.”
Jesus followed this covenant while He was on earth. “ I
only do what I see the Father do”. “…not
my will but your will be done,” How did Jesus know
the will of the Father unless it was told to Him?” How
can He bring mankind a new covenant if while He was a man,
He didn’t abide in the terms of His own covenant? He
was our first example of how we are to live while on this earth… 1st
John 2:6, …”the one who says he abides in
Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” Jesus
listened and then obeyed. Why is it so hard to accept this
concept? Are we so set in our ways that even though we know
it’s wrong, we can’t change or have we stopped
caring and we “have adhered to a form of Godliness
and denied the power there of”? Maybe Jeremiah’s
warning extends further into the future than we thought.
Are we so stubborn that we could miss the greatest gift Jesus
gave to us, His Voice? Ask yourself the question that God ask
the Israelites in Jeremiah 5:31 “But what will you
do when the end comes?” Whose voice are you following?
It is a covenant that you agreed to when God offered it to you.
Are you fulfilling your part of the covenant? “Your
will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Are we
doing His will? You are not capable of doing His will if you
are not hearing His voice.
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