Most Believers Have Missed the New Covenant

There is a very well-known verse that the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving. That's in 2nd Corinthians 4.4. So that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ might not be seen. The God of this world is Satan seeking to blind the minds of the unbelieving. Now here the gospel is called the gospel, not of the gospel of forgiveness of sins. That's just the beginning. The gospel of the glory of Christ. The new covenant gospel is the gospel of the glory of Christ which is way beyond forgiveness of sins. It's not just getting out of Egypt. It's getting into the land of Canaan and slaying the giants. It's not wandering in the wilderness. That is the new covenant gospel. And just like the God of this world has blinded the minds of non Christians so that they try to work out their salvation in so many other ways, get their forgiveness of sins in so many ways, but we've received it by faith, by grace. In the same way, the God of this world has blinded the minds of so many believers so that they don't see the rest of the gospel of the glory of Christ. So this is what I want to share of I myself was blind to it for about 16 years after I was born again. Well I was living the normal born-again, normal life of not born-again Christians. Falling into sin usually in my thoughts or words. We are more careful with our actions after we are born again, but careless with our thoughts and words. And then I'd say Lord forgive me and I as long as I kept on asking for forgiveness I thought that was it. And I was sure I was on my way to heaven. But I was so frustrated with my defeated life and it became worse and worse in my thought life even though I was preaching. I finally got so fed up with my defeated life that I said Lord I will stop preaching if you don't make my inner life correspond with my outer life. And I began to see God and fast and prayed myself and with others and that's when after 16 years of defeat God opened my eyes to see the truth. He filled me with the Holy Spirit afresh and opened my eyes to the truth of the gospel. Now we read in 2nd Thessalonians. I have to go through this a bit quickly so if you can turn with a mean reference do it but otherwise I'll read it to you. In 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 11 is the only verse in the Bible where it says God himself will allow some people to be deceived. Now Satan tries to deceive us our flesh deceives us, lust deceives us, our heart deceives us, Jeremiah 17. But on top of that if God himself will send a deluding influence so that some people believe what is false there's no hope for them. So to whom does God send this deluding influence? It says in verse 10 of 2nd Thessalonians 2, two things. Those who don't love the truth and those who don't want to be saved from sin. That means when they see something in Scripture which is the truth and they don't love it because they've all their life held something else as the truth and they're not willing to change their mind then they can be deceived. And second if they are not interested in being saved from sin they can be deceived. So there are two qualifications to avoid deception. One is I must love the truth which I see in the Word of God and when God shows me the truth about myself I must love it and say Lord I want to be delivered from that whatever you show me and secondly I must want to be saved from sin. The entire Old Testament the only promise was that people's sins could be forgiven as we read in Psalm 103. That was 1,000 years before Christ David could say bless the Lord oh my soul who forgives all 100% of my sins. He was looking forward to the death of Christ on the cross. But as soon as you turn the pages of the New Testament we come to the first promise of the New Testament which many people don't know. The first promise of the New Testament is Matthew 121 which says the angel told Joseph you must call his name Jesus. Why? Because Jesus means what? He will save not even forgive he will save his people from their sins. If it was only that he would forgive their sins that's an Old Testament message Psalm 103. But this is he will save his people from their sins. There's a lot of difference being being forgiven and being saved. To be saved is to be delivered from the pit. I've asked people this question. I say has Jesus saved you from anger? They say no. Has Jesus saved you from lusting after women? No. Has Jesus saved you from hypocrisy? Pride? No no no. What has he done for you then? He forgives us every time we fall. He forgives us. Then I say you cannot call him Savior. Say Jesus is my forgiver. That's the honest truth. Who can say Jesus is my Savior? The one who's been saved from these sins or who's being saved from these sins. So that is where the God of the world has deceived so many people. When Paul was writing his last letter to Timothy he told him in 2nd Thessalonians in chapter sorry 2nd Timothy in chapter 2. Paul was burdened for the truth of the gospel to continue and he told him in 2nd Timothy chapter 2 and verse 15 make us be diligent to present yourself to God as a workman who will be approved by him and if you want to be approved by him you must handle the word of truth accurately. Very important to handle the Word of God accurately to compare scripture with scripture and then we can present ourselves approved to God. So coming to the truths of the New Covenant I want to talk about it from a different number of passages of scripture to show the difference between the Old Covenant and the New. Turn with me first of all to John's Gospel chapter 1. In John chapter 1 we read in the very first words that Jesus Christ the Word was God but this person who was God verse 14 says the Word became flesh. So what do we learn from that? Isn't it interesting that Jesus Christ is called the Word? He preached the Word but before he preached the Word he lived the Word. The Gospel of Luke is described by Luke in his second book. You know Luke wrote two books in the New Testament. One was the Gospel of Luke and the other is the Acts of the Apostles and in Acts chapter 1 verse 1 Luke gives a title to his first book and the title Luke gives to his gospel is what Jesus began to do and teach. Notice the order. He did and taught. He did not teach what he had not done. He did not do after he taught. He first did and taught. He began to do and teach in the Gospel of Luke. That's what is the description of the Gospel of Luke. So how would Luke describe the Acts of the Apostles? What Jesus continued to do and teach through his body, the church. In Luke he began to do and teach with his physical body. In Acts he continued to do and teach through his spiritual body. So our calling is first to do and then teach and never to teach what I'm not doing or which I'm not even attempting to do. In other words there's no place for hypocrisy in New Testament preaching. So coming back to John chapter 1 we read the Word became flesh. Think of the written word which God had given to man. In the Old Testament it was a written word. Scribes studied it. You had to study it carefully and it did not matter if you did not believe it in your private life. So long as your doctrine was right in Israel you were okay and the scribes studied those 613 commandments that God gave them and taught people but the life was not important. The written word was important. You know it says in Psalm 119 and verse 105, Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. What was the light under the Old Covenant? The written word. Very important. Genesis to Malachi and the law for Israel. That word was a lamp to my feet and a light to my path David says. But in the New Covenant the light is not the word. It says in about Jesus in John chapter 1 verse 4 in him was life and that life was the light of men. That's the first thing I want you to notice. In the Old Covenant the written word was the light. In the New Covenant it was the life that was manifested in flesh when the word became flesh. Not the written word but the word become flesh. The same word but it is not in a book alone. It is in a life and that life John 1 4 is the light of men. That's different from Psalm 119 where it says Thy word is a light to me. Now the life of Jesus is the light. In him was life and that life was the light of men and this light can never be crushed by the darkness. It says in the next verse. If we partake of this light, this life which is light, the Prince of darkness will have no power over us. That's why the God of the world blinds people to the truth of the New Covenant. In the Old Covenant because the written word was the important thing the prophets would go up and meet with God and come back and say come and hear what the Lord is saying. That's the Old Covenant message. Come and hear. In the New Covenant the message is come and see what the Lord has done in my life through this word. How he's changed my life. How he's delivered me from my sinful habits. Come and see. In John chapter 1 we read about some of the disciples of John the Baptist came to him in John chapter 1 verse 38 and said teacher where are you staying and rabbi where are you staying and Jesus said in John 139 come and see. Today people are asking Lord Jesus where are you? You know what he's saying? Come and see in the lives of these people who have entered the New Covenant whose lives have been transformed by my grace. So this is another big difference between Old Covenant and New Covenant. It is not come in here but come and see and from there you come in here. The other thing we see in John's Gospel chapter 1 it says here in verse 14 the word became flesh. It was not just written. It was in a life and dwelt among us and we saw the glory of God. So the purpose of the New Covenant is not to show how wonderful Christians we are but to manifest the glory of God in us and it says here about Jesus we saw the glory of God in Jesus full of grace and truth. That's a new word for the New Covenant. Grace is never found in the Old Covenant. Even the word grace translated in some King James versions in the Old Covenant is the word favor. It's not New Testament grace because it says here in verse 17 of John 1 the law was given through Moses grace and truth came only through Jesus Christ. There was no grace in the world until Jesus came. Very important to understand. There was no grace under the Old Covenant. There was the law replaced by grace and truth. Truth is another word which is misunderstood. The word truth means here reality. The opposite of truth is a lie. The opposite of reality is hypocrisy. So when it says here about truth he's saying that we can live a life of reality. In other words a life free from hypocrisy which was impossible under the Old Covenant. Nobody could keep for example in the Old Covenant nobody could keep the 10th commandment. You read through the Ten Commandments nine of them people could keep and even when Jesus told the rich young ruler about keeping the commandments he only went up to commandment number nine. He never mentioned number ten. The number ten commandment was you shall not lust. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife or your neighbor's anything that your neighbors that woman walking down the road is your neighbor's daughter. You're not supposed to lust after her. That is the 10th commandment. Nobody could keep it. The Apostle Paul says in Romans chapter 7 I could keep all the law but when it came to the 10th commandment Romans chapter 7 he says I found all types of lusting in my heart and that which was meant to be good brought death for me. Romans chapter 7 the sin taking an opportunity through the commandment killed me. Romans chapter 7 when it came to the 10th commandment verse 7 he killed me. I could not keep it but he goes on in chapter 8 to say now that the Holy Spirit has come and I walk according to the Spirit I can fulfill the law Romans 8 4. So that's just in a sort of introduction that's why I say there was no reality in the Old Testament. All the people who preached they were lusting inside. They were getting angry with their wives at home but the high priest and all the prophets they could not preach from a life. They could preach what God had spoken to them even John the Baptist the greatest of all the prophets. Jesus said the least person who enters into the new covenant the kingdom of heaven is greater than him in what way that we can experience truth in the inward part which they could never experience in the Old Covenant. You remember when David sinned and he wrote that wonderful Psalm Psalm 51 that's one verse in that Psalm where he says O Lord Psalm 51 verse 6 you desire truth in the inward parts I just don't have it. That's exactly what Paul says in Romans chapter 7. When it came to the last commandment where you shall not desire anything that's your neighbor's I found he says all types of lusts in my heart as an honest man but he was delivered because he sought God and he was filled with the Holy Spirit and as he walked in the Spirit he overcame. So that's the second thing I want you to return to Ephesians chapter 2 now to see something about this word grace means. A much misunderstood word Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 6. Verse 8 By grace you have been saved through faith that not of yourself it is the gift of God. All our works can never forgive our sin we know that. There are three tenses to salvation. There's salvation from the penalty of sin which is taken care by the blood of Christ and there's salvation from the power of sin which is through the power of the Holy Spirit and then there's salvation from the presence of sin in the future when Christ comes again. So here it says about the past. Our past salvation is by faith not of works but the purpose why are we saved. It says here in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 10 we are created in Christ Jesus to fulfill certain good works that God planned beforehand to live the life of Christ. That is the purpose of this grace. So there are two things we read in John 1 14 grace and reality. Grace and reality. Freedom from total freedom from hypocrisy and strength to live an overcoming life. Turn with me to Romans chapter 6 and verse 14 which is one of the fundamental words of the New Covenant which explains grace very clearly. You could even ask a little child a question from this verse Romans 6 14. Sin shall not have dominion or mastery over you because you are not under law but under grace. So if I were to ask even a ten-year-old boy can you read that verse and tell me one simple answer to one question. How do you know you're under grace? Well there it is. Sin cannot rule over me. How do you know you're under law? Sin rules over you. Make it more practical. Anger rules your life. You are under law whether you knew it or not. Lusting after women rules your life. You're under law not under grace. It's very clear. Sin shall not rule over you. Sin shall not be your master when you're under grace. Most Christians let me use the Old Testament example have come out of Egypt by the blood of the Lamb. Baptized like they were baptized in the Red Sea. The pillar of cloud symbolizing the baptism of the Holy Spirit also they have received but they never enter the life of victory the land of Canaan. They wander and wander and wander in the wilderness. That is life under the law. Are they redeemed by the blood of the Lamb? Yes. Have they come out of Egypt out of Pharaoh's power Satan's power? Yes. But there's no victory in their life. Wandering wandering wandering all their life till they perish in the wilderness. That is the life of many many believers. They have not understood the new covenant because the God of the world has blinded their eyes. So here is something that we need to think about. What is it that has made us blind? The Holy Spirit has come to open our eyes to see the truth. So we see here we saw John chapter 1. Let me show you one more thing in John chapter 1. We saw that grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. But we also see here another thing in John chapter 1 and that is John chapter 1 verse 18. I told you three things. Number one the word becoming flesh as opposed to the word being written in the old covenant. John 1 14. The second grace and truth John 1 14 as opposed to mercy in the Old Testament. Mercy means forgiveness. Now we have grace. Unreality unable to be free from inner sin but reality freedom from hypocrisy possible in the new covenant. And the third John 1 18 knowing God as a father. In the old covenant they never knew God as father. No person not even John the Baptist could look up to heaven and say father. The first person who could look up to heaven and say father was Jesus Christ. And on the day of his resurrection he told Mary Magdalene in John chapter 20 go and tell my brothers. That's the first time Jesus called his disciples his brothers. In John 15 the three days earlier at the Last Supper he told them I've called you servants and now I call you friends. But after the resurrection he calls them my brothers. He says tell them I ascend to my father and your father. That's the first time he combined that phrase. My father and your father. Till then it was my father or separately your father sometimes. But now he says my father and your father. Now they had become had the possibility to become children of God who could look look up to God and say father. In the Old Testament they were servants not sons. And a believer who's still experiencing only God's mercy and not his grace is really under the old covenant still. Let me turn to Galatians in chapter 4 and verse 1. A child, he may be born again, is no different from a slave if he's still a child. But we are called to be sons we read in Galatians 4 and 5. There's a difference between a child and a son. A child is a picture of a believer who's under the old covenant. His sins are forgiven. Psalm 103. Bless the Lord of my soul who forgives all your sins. But he has not become a son because he's still a slave to sin. Galatians 4 1. The child is no different from a slave from the old covenant people. Even though he claims to own all of God's promises but he hasn't experienced them. But God has sent the Spirit into us so that we might be sons. This is very very important to understand. Let me share with you one more thing that Jesus said about the father. When he was talking to the Samaritan woman he said something else about the new covenant. In John chapter 4 the Samaritan woman spoke about the Jews worshiping in that mountain and we Samaritans worshiping here. And Jesus replied to him and said in John, replied to her and said in John 4 23 the true worshipers will worship the father. They worship God in the Old Testament. Now we worship our father in spirit. And it says in verse 24 God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit. That's the other wonderful thing about the new covenant. In the old covenant they could only worship in body and soul. I have to rush through this but you can look at these references later. 1 Thessalonians 5 23 says man is spirit soul and body. It's a Trinity. And in the Old Testament the tabernacle which had three parts outer court, holy place, most holy place, symbolized body soul and spirit. And the most holy place was blocked off by a curtain called the veil symbolizing that God could not dwell in man's spirit. God dwelt there and nobody could go into that place. But when Jesus died that veil was rent. That was the opening of the new covenant. And now God can enter man's spirit and we can enter into God's presence. And we can worship God in spirit. What's the difference between worshiping God in body and soul? In the Old Testament there you read the Psalms. It's the soul is our mind and our emotions. So when a person praises God with his mind and his emotions and claps and raises hands he is praising God in body and soul. But he's not coming to the realm of the spirit. In our communication with God there are four steps. The first is prayer, where we ask God for what we need. The second is thanksgiving, where we thank him for answered prayer. The third is praise, where we praise him for who he is, not for what he's done. That's thanksgiving. And worship. And worship is the one thing which most people don't even know what it is. What most people call praise and worship in all of our churches is not praise and worship. It is praise and thanksgiving. You say, what does it matter? If we call, that's one thing, if we call praise worship or the phrase doesn't matter. Let me use an illustration. Supposing a man says to a friend of his, I bought a gift for you, a Cadillac car. And this poor man does not know what a Cadillac car is. He doesn't even know what a car is. He says, go to the store and ask for it. And that storekeeper cheats him by giving him a bicycle with the word Cadillac car written on it. And he goes around thinking he's got a Cadillac car. He didn't get it. He just has a bicycle. That's the difference between just calling praise worship when it is not worship at all. Does it make a difference? There's a lot of difference between a bicycle and a Cadillac car. And there's a as great a difference between praise and worship. Praise is praising God for who he is. Let me show you what the New Testament says about worship. In Romans in chapter 12, it says with such a wonderful gospel that he has described in the previous 11 chapters. What should you do in return? I beseech you brethren by the mercies of God, which I've just described in 11 chapters, present your body a living and a holy sacrifice. Just like in the Old Testament on the altar they offered bulls and goats. Now he says present your body a living and a holy sacrifice to God. That is your spiritual service or worship. That's how the NASB translates it, which is the accurate translation. Your worship in the spirit. What Jesus spoke about to the Samaritan woman. He told the Samaritan woman the time is coming when the true worshipers will worship God in spirit. That was on the day of Pentecost. That's when that time came. Before that nobody could worship in the spirit. And here it says worship in the spirit is when you present your body as a living sacrifice to God. In the Old Testament they had to cut up the bullock or goat into pieces. And so when we present our body we don't just say Lord take my body. No. We have to fulfill that Old Testament symbolism of cutting up our body. Lord here is my tongue. I never want to say what I want to say from now on with this tongue. I never want to get angry with this tongue. This tongue is for to be used to speak words that glorify you. And now the next piece of my body I cut it up and give it to you. Lord my eyes. I never want to look or read anything that you would not want me to look at or read. And my hands. I'm cutting up my body. Lord my hands are yours. I offer it to you as an act of worship. I never want to do or write anything with this hand which will dishonor you. Present your body as a living sacrifice. That is your worship in the spirit. And not only that. Then allow your mind Romans 12 to to be changed into the mind of God. Renewing of your mind so that you know what the perfect will of God is. So this is true worship where I've offered my body and my mind to the Lord for him to control. Now I want to turn you to another passage of scripture. We looked at John chapter 1 and that is in Hebrews chapter 8 where the new covenant is again described. In Hebrews 8 we read that in verse 7 if the first covenant Hebrews 8 7 was faultless there was no need for a second covenant. Let me explain that. If the old covenant was faultless there was no need for a new covenant. Now that doesn't mean God made a mistake in giving the old covenant. No. That means the old covenant could not bring man to the place God wanted him to come which is to have the life of God. It could only make man obey certain things externally. The Ten Commandments. Nine of them. Don't that was that was not God's plan. God's plan was much more than that. That his life should come inside and man's heart would obey. That from the innermost being he would be pleasing to God. Because the Bible says in 1 Samuel sorry in 1 Samuel 16 yes man looks on the outward appearance but God looks at the heart. And the old covenant could only make people good in the outward appearance. And a Christian who is good in his outward appearance but not in his heart is an old covenant Christian. A Christian who's pure in his outward appearance but not pure in his heart is an old covenant Christian. I'm not saying his sins are not forgiven but he has not understood the new covenant at all. He's not experienced it because the new covenant is in the heart. So that's why the first covenant was faulty. And he goes on to say in Hebrews 8 I will make a new covenant. And the three parts of that new covenant are described in verses 10 to 12. So I want to start from the bottom verse 12. First of all all your past sins forgiven and blotted out. Not only forgiven. Hebrews 8 12. God says I will not remember. That's the foundation of the new covenant. My past is blotted out and God says I will not even remember that. We have to begin there. Then we go to the next thing. All will know me as Father. They don't have to teach one another. I will give the Holy Spirit to each person. In the Old Testament the prophet had to come and teach people about God. Not now. When John chapter 2 all says you have an anointing that teaches you all things. And here also all will know me personally. You don't have to know about God from any other person. Why does God appoint teachers then? To teach the Bible. There's a lot of difference in knowing the Bible and knowing God. A child can know his father even though he may not know literature or mathematics or any such thing. That takes time. But he can know his father from a very young age. And in the new covenant the important thing is knowing God not just knowing the Bible. We must begin our day not just by reading the Bible but talking to the Father. Talking to Jesus. All shall know me. They don't have to teach everyone his neighbor saying know the Lord. So the Bible teacher is called to teach the Bible which God appoints teachers in the church to do that. Like I'm doing right now. But knowing God. I don't have to help you to know God. You can know God yourself. You need the Holy Spirit for that. You don't need Zach Punan or any other teacher for that. The Holy Spirit. Seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit and you'll know God. And the third part of the new covenant is in verse 10. I will put my law in their mind and write them on their heart. In the Old Testament when Moses went up to the mountain God gave him two tablets of stone. One contained the first four commandments and the other contained the remaining six commandments. It was written on two tablets of stone made of rock. Almost as if to say to mankind that your hearts are harder than this rock. I can write on the rock but I can't write it in your heart. But then the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost and God could write his law on these two inner tablets. What are the two inner tablets? It says here in Hebrews 8 and verse 10. The mind and the heart. What does it mean when it says God writes his law in our mind? That means he gives us a desire to do the will of God. But then he writes it in our heart which is giving us the ability to do God's will. So there are two things we need. First of all a desire to do God's will. And if you have that desire dear brother or sister don't think you got it by yourself. It's the Holy Spirit who worked in you to write God's law in your mind so that you desire to do God's will. But that doesn't complete the new covenant. He has to write it in your heart and the heart is the place where we read in Hebrews 13 and verse 8 that the heart should be strengthened by grace. We saw when grace rules over us when we are under grace sin cannot rule over us. It's like if you're standing under a roof the rain cannot fall on you. In the same way when I'm under grace sin cannot touch me cannot rule me. I can be tempted but I can't sin. It's when I move out of grace that I sin. It's good for the heart to be strengthened by grace. So when God writes his law in our heart it means he gives us strength to fulfill his will. There are two things we need. Like it says in Philippians 2. God is at work in us. Philippians 2 13. To will and to do is good pleasure. To will means he writes it in our mind. To do his will means he writes it in our heart. That is the new covenant. So what did we see in Hebrews 8? The three parts of the new covenant. Our past sins completely blotted out so that God doesn't even says he won't even remember it. Secondly knowing God as a father through the Holy Spirit said I don't need to go to anybody else to help me to know God. You can know God yourself. And third where God gives me the desire and the ability to do the will of God. This is wonderfully pictured in Hebrews chapter 10 where in Hebrews chapter 10 we read a quotation. Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 7 we read a quotation from Psalm 40 verse 7 and 8 where David says in Psalm 40 behold I've come in the volume of the book is written of me I delight to do your will O God. That's Psalm 40 verse 7 and 8. I delight to do your will O God. That's the law written in the mind. But Jesus says here in Hebrews 10 saying I come to do your will O God which is the law written in the heart. You see the difference between the way Psalm 40 is quoted in Hebrews 10. It's not I delight to do your will but I come to do your will. So Old Testament saints may have had a desire to do God's will like many of you have but the question is have you experienced that ability it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace so that we can do the will of God. Now we turn to a third passage of scripture which emphasizes the new covenant. We saw John 1 we saw Hebrews 8 and now we look at Matthew 5 6 & 7 which is known as the Sermon on the Mount. Now most people don't take the Sermon on the Mount seriously saying it's impossible to fulfill. Well let me tell you what Jesus said at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. He gave three pictures two ways two trees and two houses. So first of all he said the way I've described is a very narrow way. There's a narrow gate by which we enter in when we are born again and then there's a narrow way that leads to life which is described in Matthew 5 6 & 7 and then he spoke about two trees. The important thing is not to try and copy this. No he says your basic tree the life of Adam is bad that tree has to be chopped down and the Holy Spirit has to plant another tree within you which gives you this life that enables you to obey Matthew 5 6 & 7 otherwise you try and try and try and you'll fail all your life. And the third picture he used is of two houses. Those who listen to my word listen to the Sermon on the Mount Matthew 7 24 and do them. That means they don't just listen and understand it they do it their house is built on the rock and then the second category of people who listen to it and don't do it their house is built on sand. Now both houses look all right as long as Christ hasn't come they look all right but when Christ comes the flood and the rain comes in that house collapses. So obedience to the Sermon on the Mount is a very very important part of the new covenant. You turn with me to Matthew chapter 5 where Jesus said I did not come to abolish the law of the prophets. The old covenant is abolished but God's law is not abolished the Word of God is not abolished the Word is now becoming flesh. So he says I've come to fulfill that law out by manifesting it in his life and leading us to the place where we can experience it in our lives. And then he compares the Old Testament standard with the New Testament in Matthew 5 verse 20. He says unless your righteousness goes beyond the righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. I don't know how many of you understand that. What was the righteousness of the Pharisees? There was something good about it. It was an external righteousness. Jesus said in that Matthew 23 to the Pharisees you clean the outside of the cup. Good. Jesus was giving them a certificate that their external life was clean. They didn't do the wrong things which the law forbade. But the inside of the cup is dirty he said. And connect that with this verse. Your righteousness must be more than the righteousness of the Pharisees. They cleaned only the outside of the cup. You have to clean the inside of the cup if you want to enter the kingdom of heaven. And to explain that he said okay I'll explain what I meant. I'll explain what I meant when I said I've not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Let me give you a few examples. Number one the law said you shall not commit murder. I have come to fulfill it. How? If you get angry and you keep on getting angry you can go to hell. Verse 22. Anger in the heart is what produces murder on the outside. So that's how the law is to be fulfilled. Not just according to the letter but in the life. Inwardly man looks on the outward appearance. You don't commit murder. You get a good testimony. God looks at the heart. There's anger there. You fail. That righteousness of the law must be fulfilled inside. Then he says I'll give you another example. The law said Matthew 5 27. You shall not commit adultery. I see you. That's not enough. If you commit adultery in your heart. If you lust after women. You watch pornography. You have committed adultery with that woman whom you're looking at. If you lust after a woman you've committed adultery. Not if you see a woman. Not if you're tempted. But if you lust after. Temptation is not sin. Jesus was tempted but he did not sin. Until the end of our life we'll be tempted. But it's when I yield to temptation when my will agrees with it that I yield to sin. For example if a thought is flashed into my mind. A dirty thought. A bitter thought. A grudge. A thought of grudge or anxious thought or any type of thought. And I reject it. The thought came. I was tempted. I rejected it. I did not sin. Jesus was tempted. Turn the stones into bread. He said no. Fall down and worship me. The devil said no. Was he tempted? Yes. Did he sin? No. When one's will agrees with temptation then sin comes. And so Jesus said your righteousness must be more than the external righteousness of the Pharisees which just cleans the outside of the cup. The vast majority of Christians if they're honest they'll have to say that it's only outside of their cup that is clean. The external life. And the reason is they're satisfied with it. And that God of the world has blinded their minds to the tremendous possibility of living this higher life of the new covenant where these sins can be overcome. Sin shall not rule over you because you are no longer under the old covenant but under the new covenant. It's good for grace to strengthen your heart. Hebrews 13 verse 8. Then he gives some more examples. He says for example in the Old Testament it said in Matthew 5 you and you should love your neighbor and hate your enemy. Matthew 5 43. But I say to you love your enemies. The person who cannot love his enemy is not entered into the new covenant. The person who loves his friends and his brothers but who has got a bitterness against somebody maybe you're bitter against your mother-in-law, dear sister, you are under the old covenant. Face up to it. Seek God for that grace that will help you to overcome sin. Where you can love every person those who have harmed you, hated you, done evil to you, that you never wish any evil for them. You don't have any grudge against anybody. It's a wonderful life this new covenant life. Is it possible? With grace? Yes. Without grace? Impossible. Any amount of determination will never get you there. You can listen to this message and you say I've understood it all. In the mind you've understood it but you need grace and there are two verses in James 4 7 and 1 Peter 5 5 which says God gives his grace to the humble. If you don't get grace to overcome sin there is only one reason for it. There's a pride in your heart. A pride of who you are or your knowledge or something else or your position or whatever you are. God resists the proud it says in those verses. He can never get grace if you are proud and that's the main reason why people don't overcome sin. I remember the olden days when I was seeking for victory over sin and I didn't know how to do it and I understood this that sin shall not have dominion over you if you're under grace and I also saw that God gives his grace only to the humble. Whenever I slipped up in my thoughts I'd go to God and say Lord why did I fail? I know the answer. I didn't get grace and I say why didn't I get grace? There was some pride somewhere so when I slipped up in my thoughts what I would ask God is not why didn't I get grace or why did I fall? I would ask God Lord show me where was I proud or if I got angry somewhere sometime with someone couldn't control my anger. I go to God and say Lord where was I proud because if I was humble God would have given me grace and if I was under grace I would have victory. Please keep this as a principle in your life anytime you are defeated by any sin thought word or deed don't ask God why you fail the answer is you were proud because God always gives his grace to the humble and if you were humble you would not have fallen. Further in Matthew 6 he speaks about not seeking honor when you pray don't let people know about it. Pray in secret when you fast don't let people know about it. When you give money don't let people know about it. Tithing is an Old Testament law. All those who pay tithes are under the Old Covenant who keep it as a law are under the Old Covenant. In the New Testament there's not a single verse from Acts chapter 2 onwards when the New Covenant was established of asking people to give 10% to God. In the New Covenant the law is 100%. All that you have belongs to God. Luke 14 33 you can't be my disciple unless you give to God everything you possess. That doesn't mean you've got to put all your money in the offering box no but it means that all that you have belongs to God. But how much should I give to God? That is very clearly described in 2nd Corinthians 9. God loves a cheerful giver as much as you can give cheerfully. But recognize that everything belongs to God. In other words all my possessions I say Lord oh here are my possessions. I won't hold on to them. That's possessing it. I open my palm and say this is yours. All my positions are yours. You can keep it there or you can take it away. That is to be free. In the Old Testament they possessed it. In the New Testament we offer up to God and say what you want you can take what you want me to keep your keep. But I don't live under a law of 10%. I don't live under that bondage. I say Lord all that I have is yours. Tell me how to spend my money. Help me not to waste it. Help me to use it as the way you want me to use it. That is New Covenant discipleship. A lot of people say oh well then God will make life miserable for me. He won't allow me to spend it here and there. That's because you don't know God is a father. Will your father make life miserable for you? How can my Heavenly Father make life miserable for me? Impossible. And the last part of the Sermon on the Mount is about anxiety. It says don't be anxious. Any person who's anxious has not entered into the New Covenant. Very clear. We can be concerned about situations but when you're anxious and worried it proves you don't know God is your father. Let's face up to it. It's better to acknowledge and recognize our disease so that we can get healed. If you keep denying the disease you'll never get healed. Say to yourself Lord anxiety is a sin because three times in Matthew 6 you said don't be anxious, don't be anxious, don't be anxious. Why did you repeat three times? The same God who said do not commit murder said do not be anxious. Have you taken it that seriously? Yeah. It says also do not love money in Matthew 6 24. If I love money it's a sin. I can have money but there's a lot of difference between having and loving. The New Covenant my whole heart is to love God with all my heart. Now when we hear all these things we say this is impossible. In human strength it is impossible but with the power of God it is possible. The last thing in Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount is don't judge others. Now when you hear all this don't try to judge other people whether they are living up to the standard or not. That's not your business. Judge yourself. Now I want to say one more thing about this New Covenant and that is in Ephesians. We are told frequently about the heavenlies so let me conclude with Ephesians. Ephesians in chapter 2 it says that Jesus when we when he died we died with him and crucified with Christ. We were buried with him and Ephesians 2 6 says he raised us up with him. That means God raised us up with Christ and has seated us in the heavenly places. Ephesians 2 6 and that's why it says in Colossians chapter 3 if you are risen with Christ seek those things that are above where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Ephesians 2 6 says we are seated right now in our spirit in the heavenly places. In my spirit I'm not supposed to be living on this earth. I'm seated in the heavenly places. My values become heavenly when the Holy Spirit fills me and makes this real to me that I am a heavenly person. I get heavenly values. Seek those things that are above. Why do we have those exhortations? Because the God of the world has blinded people to their privileges in Christ and so here's another thing about the heavenlies which is very very important. First of all our mind is set on things above but another thing which we see says in Ephesians 6 12 I remember that years ago for 16 years of my life I was afraid of the devil. I was afraid of born-again. I was afraid he could do me hard here or trip me up here and there but that disappeared when I understood this. Ephesians 6 12 we read our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the evil forces of darkness the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. So we see here that the Christians battle is not with human beings but with evil satanic forces in the spirit and what the Lord told me from Ephesians 6 12 is if you want strength to battle Satan make one decision in your life that you will never fight again with flesh and blood. You will never fight with your wife or your neighbors or your brothers or anybody in the office. You'll never fight with a human being. We wrestle not with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers. I remember the days when it was very easy to get angry and to fight with people over so many things like Christians fight over property and money and all types of things. I could not overcome Satan. I was scared of Satan but when I came to this life a time came and the Lord said to me as you were afraid of Satan for many years now on what Satan will be afraid of you. I praise God for that word that set me free. I'm not afraid of the devil now because I refuse to fight with flesh and blood. Take that decision. In the Old Testament they were always fighting with flesh and blood. The Canaanites and the Midianites and the Amorites and all types of people. They were the only enemies but Jesus never fought with anyone. When somebody slapped him on his face he didn't fight back. He only fought with the devil. In the New Covenant we do not fight with human beings. Any of you who are arguing and fighting with human beings whether your wife or anybody else my dear brother sister let me say to you very lovingly you are under the Old Covenant but you don't have to stay there. God has made a way for you. Trust him. Have faith that God can give you grace. You can be saved from that bad habit through faith by grace. And in Ephesians there's another thing which is mentioned and that is the body. We are built together it says in Ephesians 5 and verse 19 verse 16. The whole body is fitted and held together and grows up in love. That's the last thing I want to mention. In the Old Covenant they could not work as a body. They were all lone individuals. And this is the final and most important part of the New Covenant. Today I'm not a lone individual. The great prophets in the Old Testament are all lonely people starting with Enoch, Noah all the way up to John the Baptist, Jeremiah, Isaiah. They never worked in fellowship with anybody else. Always alone because they couldn't get along with anybody else. You put two prophets together in the Old Testament they'll fight because they were not under grace. But now two can become one. And that's how we overcome Satan. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 18 where two or three, this is referring to the church, this is the one of the finest descriptions of the church. Matthew 18 and verse 20. Where two or three are gathered together in my name. Not those who gather together, that is we gathering ourselves. No. Gathered by the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit brings two or three people filled with the Holy Spirit together in Jesus name, there's the beginning of a church. That's what we've experienced. That's what I've experienced 45 years ago. Two or three gathered together by the Holy Spirit and they become one which says in verse 19 of Matthew 18. If they are agreed together, agreed in spirit, that was impossible under the Old Covenant. This is what fellowship is. In the Old Covenant they didn't have fellowship. It was lone individuals. Today we call fellowship sitting in a meeting together with all the others and singing and listening to others. That's not fellowship. Fellowship is a deep unity in our hearts. The type of unity a husband and wife must have which will drive Satan out of their home completely. I have taken Matthew 18 20 first of all to for my own family. I say Lord with my wife I want to be so one with her, agreed about everything and I know that you'll be the third person in the midst and then Matthew 18 18 what I bind on earth will be bound in heaven. And when problems arose, physical problems, financial problems, I could bind Satan. We could put together bind Satan and drive him out of our home. We could protect our children from the attacks of Satan. If two or three are united without any inward separation, what a work the devil has done in separating husband and wife, fighting, quarreling with each other. They make sure they're never one body and they have no power over Satan and the devil comes. You know when a husband and wife are like this the devil can't come through. But if he makes a gap between them he comes right through and attacks the children. That's how the children suffer. It's so important to understand fellowship beginning with the husband and wife. In the old covenant there was no emphasis on the home. It doesn't matter how you brought up your children. Moses children were wayward, Samuel's children were wayward, they were still prophets. But in the new covenant it says if your children are wayward you cannot be an elder in a church. If you are divorced you cannot be an elder in a church because you've got two wives. So there are many things like this in the new covenant which were not then old covenant. Family life, fellowship in the family, which leads on to fellowship in the church. And that's the last thing I want to say. So I rushed through this. I hope you can listen to the message later on and take time. And what I said in one hour you should probably take 10 hours to listen going through each scripture and asking God to make those words real to you that the word which is written there must become flesh in you. Make that your prayer. Lord I want the word to become flesh. I want to experience grace that strengthens my heart. I want to experience not only a desire to do your will but actually doing it. I want to know you as Father so I don't have to go to somebody else to know God. I know you personally. And Lord I want to experience your writing your law in my mind and my heart and to experience the reality of building my life on that firm foundation mentioned in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. And finally building fellowship in my home and in the church so that the gates of hell can be overcome by a living church. May that be true in your life. As you realize I had to rush through it because of the time but please take time to go through this message slowly. Thank God that we can preserve these this message on tape and we can listen to it later on the internet. I would encourage you to take 10 hours to listen to this slowly little by little and make it real in your life. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, there's so much in your word. There's so much in the new covenant and I believe even what I've said today I've only scratched the surface of it. Man can never do what your Holy Spirit can do. Please Lord let your Holy Spirit speak to everyone who's been listening now and it will listen in the future and bring them not to understand these truths Lord but to experience it so that the word will become flesh in their lives. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you brother Zach for that wonderful message. It's so refreshing to hear these new covenant truths you know. So the next I would say like maybe 10 minutes or so what we will take I have a few questions but Zach if you don't mind this will be beneficial for everyone if you can answer these questions. Okay. So the first question is your last point about the body of Christ. Now I look at this group just so many countries are represented here. I saw people from Germany, Belfast, Nepal, Bahamas, Ghana, Australia, Scotland, Nigeria, so many places. So I realize that many of these brothers and sisters don't have a local fellowship. What is your advice to these brothers who are listening to you and don't have a fellowship? First of all Binoy, how many questions do you have so that I can limit my time if you have only 10 minutes? Yeah I would say I have like five or six you know. So two minutes for each then. I would say we have we have up to nine so let's go up to like 15 minutes. Okay three minutes for each. Yes. Okay now when I when we we planted a church and by not we God planted a church in August 1975 but that was a result of many many years of preparation. The preparation was I discovered that the weight of fruitfulness is John 12 24 fall into the ground and die. If a grain of wheat does not fall into the ground and die it remains alone. And if a person does not have fellowship they don't have a fellowship it is because he has not been willing to fall into the ground inwardly and to die to himself every day. Jesus said take up your cross every day and follow me Luke 9 23. Link that with John 12 24. If you fall into the you don't fall into the ground and die you'll be alone. I decided the greatest work I can do for God in India is to fall into the ground and die and till then I was alone. But when I decided I'm gonna die more grains of wheat came up little by little by little and that law applies universally any farmer knows that. You sow a seed it dies you preserve it in a glass case in your sitting room it'll be one grain of wheat forever. So there's no excuse for a person being alone. He can be in the loneliest person place in the world. He can be in Eskimo land. God will give him fellowship. I believe that because he wants a church in every place. In the book of Malachi chapter 1 God says I'll have a pure testimony in every place from east to west that is God's will. So that's what I would say fall into the ground and die and pray to God to lead you to someone who has a hunger for the truth. Share the written word or give them a link to this video or something and pray that God will lead you to somebody in your locality who is wanting the truth. And once you get one person like that invite the person home or the family home to watch a video perhaps which will help him to understand these truths and little by little a fellowship can be built starting with two or three. Gradually it can become a church. Thank you brother Zach. You mentioned a lot in your messages about seeking the baptism of the Holy Spirit right so two questions on that. What is a practical way of I mean I remember when I was in a Pentecostal church that I went in like everybody told me you have to shout hallelujah things like that you know so what's the practical way a believer can seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit and how do we know that we are baptized in the Holy Spirit? First of all nobody can coach you into speaking in tongues or the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The mark of the baptism of the Holy Spirit first of all how do you know that you've got the Holy Spirit's the fullness first of all the word baptism baptism is a word which means immersion. Now there are two ways in which I can be immersed in water one is I go into a tank which is baptism in water the other is I'm standing under a waterfall I'm drenched that is the baptism in the Holy Spirit whether the Spirit of God comes upon me like a waterfall upon me and how do I know the Spirit of God is come upon me? Jesus said in Acts 1 and verse 8 when the Holy Spirit has come upon you like this baptism of the Holy Spirit that drenches you you will receive power that is the mark not tongues. Tongues may come it's one of the gifts God gives to some people 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 says chapter 12 chapter 14 say that it's a gift given to some people just like he gives the gift of teaching or the gift of evangelism to some people but so we don't seek for that that we leave it to God to decide what gift to give us but every person can receive power. Power for what? Verse 8 power to be a witness for Christ not bear witness bear witness means with lips to be a witness means by my life and my words no read carefully you shall receive power to be be a witness not bear witness many people confuse that and so that is the so how shall I seek for it first of all I need to realize that I don't have it and I desperately need it and the answer is in John chapter 7 where Jesus said in verse 37 if anyone is thirsty that's the first thing desperately thirsty you see we may have a little bit of thirst if somebody says would you like a glass of water yeah I'd like a glass of water right now but if I say this glass of water costs a million dollars or a hundred million rupees you see oh I'm not that thirsty sorry I'm not so keen on it so what thirst are you thinking of am I so thirsty that I'm willing to give up anything for this part of the Holy Spirit most people are not no they're searching for the part of the Holy Spirit like you lose you lose a few cents in the grassy place at night and how long will you look for it but if you lost a million dollars in currency note somewhere how would you look for that thirst a hunger that is the number one thing if anyone is thirsty let him come to me the second thing is faith if you believe in me out from your innermost being rivers of living water will flow I found that I had thirst I'd fast and pray and see God but I could not believe I wanted some external sign no it's my faith it's my naked faith a faith that comes when God gives you an assurance I've heard your prayer and I would say pray and trust God you pray sincerely believe that he'll give you what you asked for hold on to that and say Lord I don't want an external sign give me an inner assurance that I am filled with the Holy Spirit and leave it to God how he gives it to you many of you are born again you know that you your sins are forgiven I ask you how do you know did you see some sign did you hear a voice how do you know your sins are forgiven you say I know it exactly the same way the same way you've got assurance of forgiveness of sins you can be sure you're baptized the Holy Spirit if you seek with thirst and faith yeah thank you and before you join we had a session I mean I was just talking to different brothers from all over the place so I noticed that many of them are involved in different ministry and one other thing that your teaching blessed me to have a balance between the ministry and the life of Jesus like would you mind taking a couple of minutes about how do we balance the ministry and the life of Christ okay I think of it like a three-story building the foundation is John 17 23 God loves me just like he loved Jesus I'm absolutely assured that I have a father in heaven who loves me who will never let me go if you don't have that foundation you can't even live the life properly you will have no ministry I must never never doubt it unshakable foundation my heavenly father loves me exactly like he loved Jesus John 17 23 on that I my first story of that building which is called the ground floor in some places our first floor in some places the first story of that building is I keep a good conscience like Paul said in Acts 24 16 like Jesus said keep your eye clear there's a conscience that means anytime my conscience convicts me about something I confess immediately if I've hurt somebody I go and ask his forgiveness immediately if you lost your temper at your wife you confess to God and ask forgiveness for your wife immediately that is keeping a good conscience that is the first story of the building don't even think of ministry if you haven't got this all the time if you feel you've done something wrong financially set it right if you're bothered from money from people give it back keep your conscience absolutely clear acts 24 16 day and night a conscience clear before God in men on top of that is a second story and that is my family life if you're married with your wife and children if you're a child at home honor your father and mother and if you're married you have to build your relationship with your wife and children that I'm not saying that they have to be spiritual you must be spiritual in your attitude towards them even if your wife is unconverted even if your wife is like a witch or a devil you can still love her like Christ loved that's entirely up to you and if you seek to bring up your children like that you God will bless them when they grow up and go out of the home as well and the third story is the ministry where we build the church now many people are trying to build that third story of the ministry without being assured of God's love without keeping a clear conscience and without building their family life no wonder there's chaos all over I came to the place where I said Lord I want to give up my ministry if I can't settle these things first and because I decided that God enabled me to build this house foundation first story second story and third story ministry thank you brother that another question so many people when we share this new town and truth with other people they accuse us saying that hey these are all you're talking about earning your salvation right you know the things that you said dying to ourselves things like you know be humble things like this say you can't do that that's God has to do in you right how do we respond to that yeah it's true that God has to do it it says in Philippians 2 13 God is at work in you to write his law in your mind and your heart it's God who's doing it not me to will and to do his good pleasure Philippians 2 13 the two tablets of stone Philippians 2 13 but it says here we have to work it out in Philippians 2 12 I have to work out what God works in me or to use the illustration of Jesus in Matthew 11 29 take my yoke upon you they all saw two bullocks plowing the field and I don't know how to plow a straight furrow I'm a crooked sinful person and Jesus says take my yoke upon you let me be the senior Bullock put my yoke upon your neck and walk at my pace I'll help you Jesus teaches me to plow a straight furrow so that's not earning my salvation no I can never think about forgiveness of my past sins a million good works will not forgive even one of my past sins it's only the blood of Jesus Christ by which my past sins can be forgiven it's only the death of Christ on Calvary that saves me from the guilt of my past life so that is salvation in the past tense but I need to be saved in the present tense from the power of sin people confuse salvation from the penalty of sin with salvation from the power of sin we're not work we are not working out salvation from forgiveness for forgiveness of sins no that's free I can never do anything to get it but right now I have to you know like even in Ephesians I read that verse let me repeat it by grace are you saved through faith everybody knows that verse it is a gift of God not a works Ephesians 2 8 and 9 and then what after that then God has created us for good works Ephesians 2 10 that we should walk in them which God planned beforehand God has planned something for my life before I was born I have to fulfill that a lot of people stop with 8 and 9 Ephesians 2 8 and 9 what about verse 10 verse 10 is the building it's like Jesus said some people lay a foundation Luke 14 and then forget about it and people will laugh at them many Christians are like that when it comes to a physical house nobody will lay a foundation and stop there but in their personal life they lay a foundation forgiveness of sins on cleared my past sins are all forgiven what about the house brother what about living with a good conscience what about building your family what I mean ministry no and they say if anybody tries to do that they say that's you're trying to earn your salary no I can never earn my salvation my forgiveness of sins was a free gift of God and even what I'm doing now is by God working in me to write his law in my heart I cannot take credit for overcoming anger no I'm like the branch in the tree the moment it's cut off even if I have overcome sin for 40 years I will fall today I'm dependent like the branch in the tree which has produced fruit for 40 years it still needs to be in the tree so I'm not running my salvation I'm just dependent on the on the branch dependent on the tree trusting Christ for everything for my forgiveness as well as for my present life in Christ all right so this is gonna be our last question now we're in the official meeting so you mentioned about knowing God as a father and being secure in God's love but I don't always feel like I'm loved by God how do I overcome that yeah see in our mind there is emotion and intellect I'm not supposed to live in my mind I'm to use my mind but deeper than my mind is my spirit and the way into my spirit is in my will my will is the door into my spirit when I deny my will I allow Christ to come into my spirit otherwise I'm only in my mind and feeling a lot of Christians live in their mind and feeling I understand it I'm excited about it it means nothing brother if you don't yield your will that's taking up the cross saying no to your will and let Christ come in so I'm not to live in feeling oh I feel this about no in my will I know God is my father I know that clearly what does it matter if I don't feel like it it doesn't make any difference so I know God is my father and that only the Holy Spirit can give you that assurance so I don't live by feeling the same way with anxiety the Bible says rejoice in the Lord always that is not a feeling feeling is what we call happiness rejoicing in the Lord is because God is always on the throne he's never given up his position on the throne he's promised that everything will work together for my good and he works in inside me through the Holy Spirit that's why I believe those words and whether I feel or don't feel makes no difference I say I refuse to live by my feeling I live in my will that's why I never get discouraged I remember I told you I was defeated for 16 years I was so frequently discouraged those days because I lived in my feelings I don't live in my feelings anymore so many temptations can come so many things can be wrong but I say Lord I got a father in heaven who runs this universe who works everything for my good who will not allow me to be tested beyond my ability 1 Corinthians 10 13 and that is the foundation of my life and so I don't shake it I'm built on the rock amen and that's exactly how Jesus live right John 638 right I have come from heaven to earth not to do my will but to do my father's for right thank you brother Zach this has been so encouraging so refreshing and thank you so much for your time and by blessing us you know that your willingness to come and share this message with all of us and so many people so many folks from I mean I'm just so amazed at them thank God for the technology and what an amazing thing that and everyone out there if you have any questions or anything please there is a email address at Austin CFC at gmail.com feel free to email us and so that we can respond I mean it's going to be hard to have the questions from all of you because it's hard to manage that you know but please let us know and if you're interested we can do this again so please email us so I'm going to ask a brother son from our church to close in prayer brother son Kim can you would you mind closing in prayer sure brother let's pray our Heavenly Father we just want to thank you and that you open our we ask you to open our eyes that we may hold behold your wondrous promises lost Lord thank you for the words that you planted today we know that and you know most importantly that there are the hungry and the thirsty ones who listen Lord may you guide them by the Holy Spirit to seek out for you to be filled and to seek also seek for the new covenant life the new that you promised us Lord into those who are seeking fellowship to connect them together Lord thank for the wonderful word that we heard today may all become true to us and now waste one more day praying Jesus name Amen