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  THE HUGE TRANSFORMATION THAT IS POSSIBLE WITH THE NEW COVENANT
  by Sandeep Poonen
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Summary: This sermon delves into the comparison between the old covenant
and the new covenant as expressed in Jeremiah 31:31-34. It emphasizes
that the old covenant was broken by the people, leading to the need for
a new covenant where both God and His people keep their sides of the
agreement. The significance of the blood of Jesus in the new covenant is
highlighted, emphasizing its power to cleanse, redeem, and grant access
to God. The sermon concludes with a call to transformation, urging
believers to be like a bride pursuing and surrounding the bridegroom,
actively keeping the covenant.

Topics: "Covenant Relationship", "Transformation in Christ"
Scripture References: Jeremiah 31:31, Ephesians 1:7, Romans 3:24, Hebrews 10:19, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Romans 12:2, Jeremiah 31:22, Ephesians 4:15

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DESCRIPTION
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This sermon delves into the comparison between the old covenant and the
new covenant as expressed in Jeremiah 31:31-34. It emphasizes that the
old covenant was broken by the people, leading to the need for a new
covenant where both God and His people keep their sides of the
agreement. The significance of the blood of Jesus in the new covenant is
highlighted, emphasizing its power to cleanse, redeem, and grant access
to God. The sermon concludes with a call to transformation, urging
believers to be like a bride pursuing and surrounding the bridegroom,
actively keeping the covenant.

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CONTENT
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I wanted to show us Jeremiah chapter 31. This is the expression of the
new covenant and I want us to recognize what the new covenant was
compared to the old covenant. Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31 through 34.

Behold the days are coming declares the Lord when I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. This is
the new covenant not like the covenant which I made with their fathers
in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of
Egypt. My covenant which they broke although I was a husband to them
declares the Lord but this is the covenant which I will make with the
house of Israel those days declares the Lord.

I will put my law within them and on their heart I will write it and I
will be their God and they will be my people. They will not teach again
each of his neighbors and each man his brother saying know the Lord for
they will all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them
declares the Lord for I will forgive their iniquity and their sins I
will remember no more. Again here that expression comes at the very end
of that new covenant that Jesus has delivered.

In this verse it tells me the reason why we have a new covenant. What
was wrong with the old covenant? Did God make a mistake? No it tells me
in verse 32. There was nothing wrong with the covenant.

God kept up his side of the bargain but here's what he says here at the
end of verse 32. It's the covenant which they broke. That's the problem
with the old covenant.

It was a one-sided covenant. God kept his part of the bargain. He said I
was a husband to them in verse 32.

We broke it. That's the old covenant. So what is the new covenant? The
new covenant very simply is a covenant that both sides keep.

Who kept the old covenant? God did. Who didn't keep the old covenant?
The people of Israel did. Okay here's the new covenant.

The new covenant is a new covenant where God keeps his side of the
bargain like he did before and we keep our side of the bargain too. We
keep the covenant too. That is the difference.

God was the husband. He says that I was a husband to them in verse 32
but they broke the covenant. So I'm going to tear up the old covenant.

I'm going to create a new covenant but here's going to be the
difference. The people will not break the covenant. Now if we look at
our lives we may say we're breaking the covenant all the time.

Then we're not in the new covenant because this should be the mark of
the new covenant. This should be the authority of the new covenant. Why
did God break up the old covenant? For a few reasons but in Jeremiah 31
he says this is the new covenant but the old covenant is not good enough
because you're breaking it.

We call ourselves new covenant Christian fellowship. What that means is
we're going to keep the covenant. We're going to shake hands with God
and say God we're going to do the deal that you made with us.

We're going to keep it. I don't know if we have seen that that's the
standard God's asking us to do. You have to keep the covenant and you
have the whole three thousand two thousand years of Moses telling all
the Israelites of the law and they kept breaking it.

Keeping it for a few years and then breaking it. Keeping it for a few
years and breaking it. What is the new covenant? Well we don't break the
standard is a covenant that we keep.

God's keeping his side. We have to keep it. If we start with that then
we have to say Lord how is this possible? Then the next question comes
is Lord how is that even possible? You know me.

We know you. We all know each of us. How do we keep that covenant?
That's what Jeremiah 31 31 through 34 says.

I'm going to create a new covenant and he talks a 33 34. They will not
teach one another because in verse 33 34 they will all know me. That's
why.

That's why the covenant is going to be different because they will all
know me and why will they all know me? At the end of that verse it says
because I will forgive their sins. So the starting point the first step
in this keeping the covenant that we have to do on our side is to
recognize what Jesus did in his blood. The blood of Jesus is so
powerful.

I don't think any of us come close to understanding his its power and
the preciousness. Peter uses a word to describe the blood of Jesus. He
calls it the precious blood of Jesus and we all fall short of treating
the blood of Jesus as precious.

I want to tell you a story from this morning. We have two dogs. One one
who's potty trained one who's not.

We had we separated the dogs this morning last night. They slept. Well
the dog got out the dog one of the dogs the younger one has been pooping
in his crate.

Well we put him in a different one and he pooped on on the floor. Okay
but there were three four spots. Three spots of poop and one spot of
blood.

So there's something in the wrong in his diet. That's why there's a
little bit of blood too. But I'll tell you something.

Laura and I had to clean it up this morning. As difficult as it was to
clean up the extra excrement of his dog it was different to try to deal
with the blood. Not because it was difficult but there was a little bit
of sadness when there's blood there when you're looking at blood.

And as much as the smell of the excrement is much worse it was more
difficult for me to touch the blood to clean up the blood. And I noticed
something from there from that and interestingly enough the dog was very
considerate. He had four little spots neatly separated out and the blood
all by itself.

But as we were trying to clean up as I was trying to clean up the blood
and I noticed I had left. There's a lot more difficulty for me to look
at that blood. There's something sobering about it.

The bible says that there's life in the blood. There's a we get life not
from the oxygen we breathe but from the blood that we have. And so I
think it is in the animals too.

That's why we had to sacrifice the blood of animals. What I'm trying to
say is there's a soberness about blood excrement you're not losing
anything it's expelled from the body but blood is precious. And we talk
a lot about glorying in the cross.

Dear brothers and sisters have you ever seen a cross with blood on it?
Have you ever seen a picture of a cross blood on it? You hang pictures
you show pictures on the wall. Have you ever seen pictures of blood on
the cross? No we don't want that. We want to sanitize the cross.

You know what is in heaven? We see a slain lamb. What does slain mean? I
get the picture that there's blood on it on that lamb. There's blood the
precious blood of Jesus is what allows our iniquities to be cleansed.

The blood of Jesus has so much power it's worth meditating on. The blood
of Jesus releases us redeems us from the penalty of our sin not from not
from the devil. The devil doesn't have us.

It's the wrath of God that's going to send us to hell not the devil.
It's God's anger against sin that's going to send us to hell and the
blood of Jesus releases us redeems us from the wrath of God and gives us
peace with God. The blood of Jesus brought all of us non-Jews into the
covenant so it expanded the covenant.

The blood of Jesus justifies us and calls us righteous. That's much more
than forgiving us of our sins. The blood of Jesus says I look at you as
if you've always obeyed.

That's a completely different standard than cleansing us of the blood of
cleansing us of all our sins. I look at you and say you nailed it every
single time. You obeyed every single time.

That's what the blood of Jesus gives us. Romans 3 24 and 25. The blood
of Jesus gives us entrance into the most holy place.

Hebrews 10 intimacy and fellowship with Jesus where we can walk in where
the high priest could only go there it's the blood of Jesus that gets us
in intimacy with Jesus. It's all the blood not the cross. It's the
blood.

We have a lot of songs that sing about the cross but not enough songs
that we should be cherishing about the blood of Jesus that gives us
entrance into the most holy place and it's the blood of Jesus that makes
us fitted into the body of Christ where we can be the bride of Christ.
It's the blood. I'm talking about specific scriptures in the bible that
connect the blood of Jesus with this access we have.

So as I said there's a soberness in which the blood has to be
appreciated to say oh I will forgive your sins and I will remember them
no more. Well slow down. That came at a massive price.

As we see blood in our children as we see blood even in an animal it
should sober us. So this is where the life comes from and it was the
blood of Jesus that was drenched all the way through till there were no
more drops left that were shed for us. You have not resisted sin to the
point of shedding blood.

You've not taken sin that seriously. Once you see that blood was shed
for your sin then it was so it'll be much more sobering for us and I
thank God for that little visual I got this morning and the visual of
that blood being so difficult to look at when compared to one of the
most ugly things you'd ever want to look at and face which showed me how
precious I must treat the blood of Jesus compared to all the most
difficult situations in my life that may feel like being dragged through
the gutter. That should be nothing compared to the blood that was
spilled.

That is the basis on which we encountered in covenant. That's the very
first step and then he says the blood of Jesus because of that will
change the way I do things. I will write my laws into your heart and
I'll write my laws into your mind so that you'll know me with that
intimacy and that's what will make a difference to where you'll be able
to keep the covenant and so the reason I'm saying that is not because
I'm trying to any of us to feel bad but for all of us to know what our
true heritage is.

Not that our children will be good and kind and know the theology of the
new covenant but that they will be gripped by the sacrifice of the blood
of Jesus. All of us will be so that we can respond to the blood of Jesus
and say Lord what I'm expecting out of the new covenant is laws written
on my heart and laws written on my mind and knowing you in a way that
David and Samuel and Daniel could never know you. I want to know you and
where's the proof of it.

I don't break the covenant. That's the proof. David didn't break the
covenant for a while and then he broke the covenant but that we
increasingly don't break the covenant.

I was blessed by a verse that was shared. A lot of these thoughts
actually were confirmed and built up in me from our Thursday midweek
group that we had and one of the verses that was shared there was in
Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 15 and 16 that was shared
in there. We may know these verses Ephesians chapter 4 verse 15 and 16.

It's tied right in with we don't break the covenant. If we call
ourselves new covenant Christian church we it's one of the most exalted
titles to give to any church new covenant you know because what's the
saying we are the church of the blood of Jesus Christ. I've never heard
of such a church but it's almost like we're basically saying the same
thing because Jesus said this is the new covenant in my blood.

So when I when we call ourselves new covenant Christian fellowship what
we're saying is we're the church of the blood of Jesus Christ. You can't
get higher than that. We can't get anywhere without the blood of Jesus
Christ.

That's the new covenant Ephesians 4 and so that's the standard towards
which we should be saying but speaking the truth Ephesians 4 verse 14
and 15 Ephesians 4 14 and 15 as a result we are no longer to be
children. Here what is this breaking the covenant tossed around here and
there by waves of this or that by trickery and deception we should no
longer be children but speaking the truth in love we are to grow up
that's a beautiful word that gave me a lot of hope because a two-year-
old doesn't become a three-year-old in one day a two-year-old has 365
days and there's going to be many hours when you're going to see your
children today before they're just one day older and that's the
beautiful word for us to think about we grow up in all respects in all
aspects of him like the head is. So our goal is to be like Jesus where
we never never ever break the covenant but the way we get there is
growing up not like children who are tossed around but little by little
little by little day by day as we watch our children and then as every
parent who's gone before us tells us time flies before we know it our
children are 18 and going to college well in the same way before we know
it we'll be in our 50s in our 60s and 20 30 years of being a Christian
going where God says when did all those 20 30 years of being a Christian
go it goes by quickly but right now you see your children in front of us
we have our day before us let us no longer be like children tossed
around but growing up in all aspects just like children grow up and
become adults let us grow up to become more and more steadfast immovable
abounding in the work of the Lord because we know there's no sting in
death because we know the grave has no power over us one Corinthians 15
says that because we know that because we rejoice in that even when we
see people dying we don't grieve as those who are of this world grief
why because we know that there's no sting in death well so what do we do
then now here on earth let us be immovable steadfast not breaking the
covenant abounding in the work of the Lord that's what we are to do not
being like little children and that transformation dear brothers and
sisters that's the word I wanted to leave with you transformation that
word is used twice in the new testament to talk about the transformation
that needs to happen in our lives metamorphosis some of you may have
studied that in science metamorphosis change into a new form that's what
metamorphosis is and the picture that we and the animal that we think
about when we think of metamorphosis is children you know what animal we
think about butterflies that's the final stage right but what changes
what does it change from Sammy what does it change from caterpillar see
that's what everybody thinks everybody thinks the caterpillar becomes a
butterfly but I'm here to tell you I'm giving you a science lesson to
caterpillars don't become butterflies did you know that I'm just a
little bit of a trick caterpillars become something else caterpillars
become something called a pupa and a pupa becomes a butterfly okay and a
caterpillar eats and eats and eats and eats that's a picture of us who
love to eat God's word all of us not everybody in the world but all of
us we love to hear God's word we love to listen to sermons we become fat
we become strong and not fat not strong become fat full of eating that's
what a caterpillar is supposed to do supposed to eat and eat and eat we
listen to lots of messages we have bible study apps we got youtube
messages that are constantly eating eating eating well that's
caterpillar stage there's an in-between stage before it becomes a
butterfly and that's called the pupa stage where God has to just
restrict you no more eating now it's transforming time the caterpillar
becomes a pupa and the pupa becomes a butterfly there are two parts that
I wanted to show you that transformation there's two verses that talk
about that 2nd Corinthians 3 18 talks about God transforming us 2nd
Corinthians chapter 3 verse 18 he uses that word metamorphosis in the
Greek that's that word metamorphosis 2nd Corinthians 3 18 and he says
that we as we behold the Lord dear brothers and sisters just think about
this what he's saying here as we look at Jesus we're transformed can you
think about that has that ever happened to you as you just looked at
Jesus and you got transformed well that's what he's saying here we with
unveiled face looking as in a mirror the the glory of the world
beholding as in the mirror the glory of the Lord are transformed our
metamorphosis went from pupa to butterfly that's interesting caterpillar
to pupa to butterfly how by just beholding and I thought about that word
pupa and I thought how do I make it easy for me to remember and I
thought of what we don't have the word pupa we don't really use that
word I thought of the word pupil you know and pupil has two meanings
there's the pupil of your eye and that's an expression to say the most
treasured thing and God is saying I want you to be I want you to be like
the I want me to be like the pupil of your eye I look at you as the
pupil of my eye I want you to look at me and make you the pupil of my
eye what does that mean I want you very simple where your pupil is what
you see that Jesus is what I see that's what he's saying here and Jesus
becomes like the pupil what's in the pupil of my eye when you think of
the word pupil when you think about a butterfly think of the word pupa
when you think of the word pupil I think of word pupil the pupil of your
eye and say Lord Jesus I want you to be like the pupil of my eye center
focused beholding as in a mirror beholding as in the pupil of my eye the
glory of Jesus very simple Jesus must be my hero Jesus must become my
hero if Jesus is my hero I become transformed very simple if Jesus is my
hero I become transformed that's the problem dear brothers and sisters
Jesus is not our hero we don't look at Jesus and say his his financial
state good enough for me his comfort level sleeping out in the forest or
whatever it is good enough for me his life as an inconspicuous carpenter
good enough for me his life being rejected by most of most of religious
religion of that day good enough for me and if we walk by the life of
Jesus we are attracted to the miracles but a lot of his daily life is
not very attractive despised of men good enough for me Lord Jesus you're
my hero I want Jesus to be the pupil of my eye so every part of the life
of Jesus is what I appreciate and adore the other meaning of the word
pupil is student and that's what it means that's what the other use of
that verse in Romans chapter 12 verse 2 be transformed be
metamorphosized by the transforming of by the renewing of your mind you
have to be a student say Lord and Jesus has to teach me that's what he
does he teaches us on Sundays he teaches us in the midweek group and he
says I want to teach you how to do it and we have to be a student that
acts it out Monday through Saturday I'm going to be a pupil under the
disciples eyes under the teachers eyes saying I want to see how you do
this problem I gave you the template on Sunday morning I taught you on
Tuesday and Thursday and Friday I gave you fellowship with somebody now
it's pupil time be a student and execute on it live it out that's what's
happening Monday through Saturday that's what it means we have to be a
student under the discipler then we get and you know Philippines 4-8 is
a verse that you can remember as it relates to how we be a pupil student
whatever is good whatever is noble whatever is excellent whatever
whatever is of good repute think about those things meditate on those
things renew your mind to those things so a critical thought that comes
in a judgmental attitude that comes in an unloving attitude an
unforgiving attitude that comes in be a pupil stop feeding on God's word
like the caterpillar does be restricted now make Jesus my hero and say
pupil time now time for me to be a student by the renewing of my mind
putting all that I've studied into practice I've become more and more
like Jesus the metamorphosis happens dear brothers and sisters we have
to do our part it's not just beholding it's the renewing of our mind too
I thank God that God used those two words in two places one way he's
doing our part mostly by just be beholding and then we have to renew our
mind we have to do the work just like the miracles of Jesus we pour the
water he turns it into wine we give the five loaves into the two fish he
multiplies it and so on and so forth we roll over the storm Jesus
Lazarus comes forth we have to do our part we have to renew our mind in
the metamorphosis we cannot become butterflies on our own but we have to
do our part one final verse from Jeremiah chapter 31 I want to inspire
you I want to encourage you with this verse like it encouraged me
Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 22 six times in the book of Jeremiah Jesus
Jeremiah says faithless people faithless without faith and there's a
word of hope in Jeremiah 31 verse 22 how long will you go here and there
oh faithless daughter Jeremiah 31 verse 22 how long will you go there
here and there how long will you keep breaking the covenant oh faithless
daughter as I said six times Jeremiah uses this word and I think this
may be the last time he uses it but now faithless is going to become
faithful breakers of the covenant are going to become keepers of the
covenant faithless are going to become faithful how are we going to do
this how long will you go here and there oh faithless daughter for the
Lord has created a new thing on the earth behold I will do something new
what's the new thing a woman will encompass a man what does that mean
here's what it means to me a woman will surround a man here's what it
means we talk long and hard about Jesus pursuing us we talk long and
hard about the father running out to meet us like the prodigal son
running out to meet us well here's the new covenant we don't we don't
break the covenant and the woman the bride pursues and surrounds the
bridegroom it's a two-way street it's not just us glorying in the
bridegroom pursuing the bride Jesus standing at the door of knocking and
we're helpless pathetic beings that's not that's all covenant or no
covenant the new covenant is a bride that is pursuing and surrounding
the bridegroom what a tremendous hope people who'll keep the covenant
and the bride of Christ is not a human is not a person it's a people
it's a church it's a group of people who are committed to saying we're
going to surround the bridegroom we're going to encompass the bridegroom
we're going to commit together not one not two where two or three are
gathered maybe more when we were devoted to Jesus and we're encompassing
the bridegroom that's the hope your brothers and sisters let's not fall
short of the new covenant where we think it's about the blood of Jesus
and the Holy Spirit and all those things we have a tremendous part to
play the new covenant the old covenant was torn up because we broke it
the people of Israel God said I'm tearing it up I'm going to give a new
covenant for you keep it because of the blood of Jesus being our source
of all our energy that can tear down any prison wall the blood of Jesus
that gives us access into the most holy place and so on an intimate
fellowship with him based on that Jesus says now go from faithless to
faithful that's the promise I have for you I want to make you a bride
that's pursuing me too it's a two-way street that's dear brothers and
sisters I'm so encouraged I'm excited about the calling of the new
covenant that's expanding in my eye to see my responsibility to see the
impossible calling but saying God this is the life worth living I want
the testament of my life to be that I was one of the people who was the
bride of Christ that was surrounding the bridegroom too I wasn't
constantly waiting for the call of Jesus knocking on my heart I was
running after him may God help us

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Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/kNrUzkQc8Fc.mp4
Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/sandeep-poonen/the-huge-transformation-that-is-possible-with-the-new-covenant/
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