Sermon
I Have The Receipt: The Blood of Jesus Established a New Covenant
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Faith is more than a feeling or a theory. It's
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a decision that moves your feet, opens your hands,
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and activates God's promises. In our brand new
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This is week number seven in our series entitled,
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I have the receipt. Now, if you've ever been
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to BJ's or a Costco, some sort of wholesale center,
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you know that before you check out or after you
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check out, you take your receipt. your proof
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of purchase over to another counter before they
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let you leave the building. And someone looks
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at your buggy, they look at you, they look at
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your receipt, and they verify, they make sure
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that you've scanned every single item before
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they allow you to leave. Why? Because you're
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entering into an agreement with the store. Once
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those goods are purchased, they belong to you.
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They can't come back, you know, like a week later
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and be like, oh, well, we changed the price of
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this item. We want that item back. No, you've
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entered into an agreement with them and those
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items belong to you. And we've been talking about
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the blood of Jesus and how it's a central truth
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of the Christian faith. But we've looked at what
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was purchased and what is provided through the
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blood of Jesus. And that's what this series has
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been about, because the word of God. Contains
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a detailed receipt of what Jesus purchased, what
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Jesus provided with his blood. And that's why
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this series is called I Have the Receipt, because
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the word of God reveals so many great promises,
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so many great. things connected to the blood
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of Jesus. And it's been a great series that we've
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been on. So let's recap a little bit and look
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at some of these things that scripture reveals
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about the blood of Jesus. So the blood is not
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just an illustration or symbolic religious verbiage,
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as some of you who maybe have grown up in church.
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you know, have heard about it or thought about
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it, it's actually full of covenant reality. And
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it's full of spiritual power, as we've seen.
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So let's turn to Scripture. Hebrews 9 .22, as
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we've looked at, says this, Without the shedding
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of blood, there's no forgiveness. Everybody say
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forgiveness. So the blood of Jesus makes forgiveness
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possible for the believer. And then we looked
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at in Colossians 1, 13 through 14 says, for he
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has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and
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transferred us into the kingdom of his dear son
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who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
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Say purchased and then say forgave. So God. purchased
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us he not only forgave us he purchased us too
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as we saw so the blood of jesus it paid the price
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it purchased our redemption and this verse tells
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us that he brought us out of darkness he bought
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us from the kingdom of darkness and then transferred
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us into the kingdom of in christ his son And
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then we looked at in Hebrews 9, 13 through 14,
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says under the old system, the blood of goats
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and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse
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people's bodies from ceremonial impurity. Verse
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14, just think how much more the blood of Christ
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will purify our consciences from sinful deeds
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so that we can worship the living God. Here we
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see that Christ's blood also deals with the effects
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and the eternal damage of sin. Not just sin in
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general, but it deals with sin's effects on us
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and how sin has internally affected us and damaged
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us. Christ's blood can cleanse the conscious,
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is what this verse says. It cleanses our minds
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of all guilt and condemnation. And from these
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things can come up from, as we saw from past
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experiences, past actions on our part, maybe
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some sinful actions done to you. But thank God
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that his blood cleanses us, not just salvation,
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not just for eternal life, but it cleanses our
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minds in the here and now of sin. And it removes
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that power of sin over us. And then we saw in
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Hebrews 10, 19. And so, dear brothers and sisters,
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we can boldly enter heaven's most holy place
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because of the blood of Jesus. And as we learned,
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the blood of Jesus grants us bold access to God.
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This is another great truth. in God's word about
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the blood of Jesus. Let's continue with more
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that we've looked at. In Hebrews 12, 24 says,
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So as we learned, the blood of Jesus speaks.
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It has a voice. The blood of Jesus speaks mercy.
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It speaks. It speaks acceptance. It speaks peace.
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It speaks reconciliation and covenant favor.
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So the blood of Jesus, it speaks these better
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things over us. And then we saw in 1 Corinthians
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15, 57 says, but thank God he gives us victory
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over sin and death. Everybody say victory. He
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gives us victory over sin and death through our
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Lord Jesus Christ. And then we saw in Revelations
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12, 11, it says, and they overcame him, talking
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about our enemy, our adversary, the devil. It
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says, and they overcame him, speaking of a future
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thing that will happen, but we overcome him now
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by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their
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testimony. As we saw the blood of Jesus, it secures
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our victory over sin, death, and the enemy, and
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all demonic forces. As the believer, we have
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authority in Christ over these things. These
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things no longer rule over us. And then in 1
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Peter 2, 24, we saw that who himself bore our
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sins in his own body on the tree, that we, having
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died to sins, might live for righteousness, by
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whose stripes you were healed. And we looked
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at that word healed as meaning wholeness. When
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we look at the original Greek language, it means
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wholeness for the believer. So what does this
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mean? It means that the blood of Jesus purchased
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healing for the whole person, for the physical,
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for the mental, for the emotional. The blood
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of Jesus provides wholeness, provides healing,
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restoration of the whole person. He's not just
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concerned about your salvation. He's concerned
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about your mental arena. He's concerned about
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your emotions. And these things can often get
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in the way of our worship and our life served
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and surrendered to God. And God's saying healing
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is more than often just what we think about.
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the whole person, and the blood of Jesus provided
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that for us. So, as we've seen, the blood of
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Jesus, it not only makes forgiveness possible,
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it not only perches us out of the kingdom of
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darkness, not only cleanses our conscience from
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the effects of sin, not only grants us bold access
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to God, it not only speaks better things over
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our lives, it not only secures our victory, It
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not only makes us whole. Today, we're looking
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at how the blood of Jesus establishes covenant.
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Everybody say, establishes covenant. Now, throughout
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this series, we've made a lot of statements about
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covenant, but we've not really defined what a
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covenant is. So let's talk about that real quick.
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A covenant is an irrevocable agreement between
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two parties. And as we look throughout Scripture
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from beginning to end, we see that God is a covenant
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God. We see Him make covenants with Adam, with
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Noah, with Abraham, with Moses, and David. And
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today I want us to look at two individual ones.
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Now, God made many covenants with these people,
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but I just want to focus in on two of these because
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I... think that they reveal a great truth that
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we can see. So in the book of Genesis, Genesis
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15, God made a covenant with Abram. Abram is
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soon to be Abraham, but he's still called Abram
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here. His name is still Abram before God changed
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his name. And God does something very unique.
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Abram asked God a very serious question. He says,
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after... Well, Abraham asked God after God had
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told him, you know, your descendants will outnumber
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the stars in the sky. And after he. showed him
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all this land. God showed Abram all this land
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and said, this would be the land of your descendants
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and you're going to have a son. And after all
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these things, Abraham asked God, he goes, so
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how will I know? In Genesis 15, 8, if you want
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to look at it, I encourage you to read it after
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this podcast. But in verse 8, he goes, so God,
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how will I know? How will I be sure that these
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things will happen? And as we've said, God is
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a covenant God. And as we see through the rest
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of this chapter, we see this is how God shows
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Abraham how he can know, how he can be assured
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of his promises that will take place. And so
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what God does here is animals were cut in half
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and laid on opposite side of each other. And
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now this seems a little barbaric, but this was.
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custom in their day. This was tradition. They
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would cut the animals in half and most of the
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time both parties would walk between them as
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a sign that if someone broke the agreement that
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their life would be on the line or they would
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perish. But this time something unique happened.
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God God laid out everything, but then he kind
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of put Abram into a trance or to sleep, some
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translations say. But yet he was still able to
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communicate with Abram. Abram was still cognizant.
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He was still aware of what was happening, as
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we see. And he sees, Abram sees a smoking cauldron
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and a torch of fire pass between these cut animals.
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And this shows us that it was representation
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of God walking through and making this promise
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and making things sure to Abram. And it reveals
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that God is showing that he alone. is the one
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who guarantees the promise. It wasn't like it
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was up to Abram to fulfill his side. No, it was
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God was showing him in that moment because he's
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saying, God, how can I be sure? And God's like,
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watch this. I'm going to walk through. I'm going
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to make sure the promise comes to be. It's not
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in your effort. It's not in your ability. And
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then when we turn over to Exodus later on, we
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see Moses. And I actually want to read this account.
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It's found in Exodus 24, 6 through 8. And it
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reveals another covenant that was made in the
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Bible that carries a lot of significance. So
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let's read it. Again, Exodus 24, verses 6 through
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8. Moses drained half the blood from these animals
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into basins. The other half he splattered against
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the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant
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and read it aloud to the people. Again, they
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all responded, we will do everything the Lord
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has commanded. We will obey. I just want to insert
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there, I wish they would have obeyed and done
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everything the Lord had commanded, right? But
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they did respond that way. And then in verse
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8, then Moses took the blood from the basins
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and splattered it over the people. declaring,
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look, this blood confirms the covenant the Lord
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has made with you in giving you these instructions.
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So quickly, I want to point out the blood was
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sprinkled on the altar and then it was sprinkled
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on the people. And we see this is the first covenant
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in the Bible where this takes place. Often blood
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was put on the doorpost or just put on the altar
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and things like that. But this time the blood
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is not only on the altar, it's on the people.
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And this is very interesting because God established
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the covenant with Moses and his people with blood.
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And the blood, it was not only applied to the
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altar, it was applied to the people. And as we
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continue to read through the scriptures, we see
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that the purpose of the covenant, of a blood
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covenant, restored fellowship. It's for restoration
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of God and man and what sin had divided and separated,
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his blood restored and mended. Because without
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blood, there's no access or fellowship of sinful
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man with a holy God. And after this takes place,
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we read in Exodus 25, 8, says this, God tells
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them, Have the people of Israel build me a holy
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sanctuary so I can live among them. So in other
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words, this could not happen until after the
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blood was applied to them. That's when now they
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can worship him. That's when they can communicate
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with him and build this tabernacle where God's
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presence would now dwell among his people. This
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is what God wants, but sin has kept that from
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happening. So just like God established covenants
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with these in the Old Testament, When we go over
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to the New Testament, we see Jesus establishing
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a new covenant with us, with his blood. Let's
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think back on the night before Jesus shed his
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blood on the cross. He got together with his
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disciples in the upper room to let them know
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what was about to take place. So now let's turn
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to Luke 22 20 and read. It says this, after supper,
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he took another cup of wine and said, this cup.
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is the new covenant between God and his people.
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An agreement, say an agreement, an agreement
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confirmed with my blood, which is poured out
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as a sacrifice for you. So notice that the cup
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was the agreement and his blood was the confirmation
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of it. And that is what is poured out as a sacrifice
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for us. And as we know, the next day when he
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shed his blood on the cross, that is when the
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new covenant was established. That's when God
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said, it is finished. It is done, meaning it
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is completed. That's when that covenant went
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into effect, when that blood left his body, right?
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But then this is... What we see in the natural,
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what takes place on the earth, was wonderful
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and grand and God willingly laying down his life
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for us, but something else takes place. We see
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what happens in the natural in the gospel accounts
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of his death and burial and resurrection, but
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Hebrews gives us further revelation of what takes
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place and what took place in the spirit realm.
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So I want us to turn now to Hebrews 9, 11 through
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15. Now, some of this overlaps with some of the
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things we've been reading, but now I want us
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to read it all in one long stretch and see what
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was accomplished in the spirit realm and what
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took place. So let's read verse 11. So Christ
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has now become the high priest over all the good
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things that have come. He has entered that greater,
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more perfect tabernacle in heaven, which was
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not made by human hands and is not a part of
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this created world. And with his own blood, not
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the blood of goats and calves, he entered the
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most holy place once and for all time and secured
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our redemption forever. So I want to stop real
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quick and just talk about... Remember, he shed
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his blood on the cross, on the earth. We could
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call that even, you know, on humanity. He shed
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his blood in the earth. And then now we see that
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he did something in the spirit realm too. He
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takes his blood with his own blood. He enters
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the most holy place, the holy throne room of
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eternity. He takes that and with his blood, he
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secures our redemption forever. Picking up in
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verse 13 says, Under the old system, the blood
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of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer
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could cleanse people's bodies from ceremonial
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impurity. But just think how much more the blood
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of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful
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deeds so that we can worship a living God. For
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by the power of the eternal spirit, Christ offered
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himself to God as the perfect sacrifice for our
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sins. That is why he is the one who mediates
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a new covenant, say new covenant, new covenant
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between God and people so that all who are called
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can receive the internal inheritance God has
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promised them. Who's the called out ones? How
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do we know? Well, New Testament church is called
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the called out ones. As we've seen, if you come
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to a Lation church, often we talk about this,
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that the church, the ecclesia is the called out
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ones. So we're called out and we can receive,
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those who are in Christ can receive the. eternal
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inheritance God has promised them. And we often
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talk about the promises of God. And through this
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series, we've been looking at what the blood
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of Jesus has purchased and provided. And we could
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call those the promises of God in our lives.
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So it's the covenant, the covenant established
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by the blood of Jesus. the covenant is an irrevocable
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agreement then that secures our our inheritance
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and guarantees his promises so what inheritance
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and what promises what do we see and what have
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we been talking about in this series well it's
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forgiveness right it's freedom from the kingdom
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of darkness it's entry into the kingdom of god
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it's cleansing of the conscious from the effects
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of sin and its bold access to God. And our inheritance
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includes divine declaration of good things. It
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includes victory over our life. It includes healing
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and wholeness, restoration of the whole body.
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And how do we apply this truth? How do we genuinely
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receive it? We've talked about this. Well, We
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have to acknowledge what Christ has done. Christ
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did something in the earth and he shed his blood
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on the cross and then he takes it up to heaven
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for our eternal redemption is what the verse
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says. So it needs to eternally be on our minds.
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We see the blood being in heaven in the book
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of Revelation. We see the blood having impact.
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And if it's that impacting, if it's that weighty
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to the kingdom of God, shouldn't it be weighty
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to us? Shouldn't we constantly keep it in our
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attention? We need to acknowledge the blood each
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and every day. And when we do that, it affects
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us. It affects our minds when we don't focus
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on other things, when our mind's not turning
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to our problems, to our circumstance. If we can
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focus our attention. on the blood and what the
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blood has accomplished and what the blood says
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instead of what our thoughts say and maybe what
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others say about us, if we can acknowledge what
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the blood says and say, you know, I have the
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receipt in the word of God and I'm standing on
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this, that's when you know that your belief system
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begins to change because What you believe is
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how you act. And when that belief starts boiling
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up on the inside of you, then you start to act
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on it. And you say, I'm in a covenant with God.
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I have the receipt. It's all been established.
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I have an irrevocable agreement that's been established
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by the blood of Jesus. Amen. So we have to align
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our words then with this covenant truth. We're
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not aligning our words in just, whatever we think
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and something that we've made up. No, we're aligning
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our words with this agreement that God's made,
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with this agreement that God settled in his word.
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So we align our words with this covenant truth.
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And as we've done each week, we practice that.
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We don't just say it. It's not just information
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to us. We're going to put his word into our mouth
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and we're going to align our words. So wherever
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you're at, no matter how silly you feel, go ahead
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and say it out loud. Say this with me and just
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repeat after me. God is a covenant God. I am
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in covenant with him. I remember the Lord and
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his finished work. I honor the blood of Jesus.
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and the covenant it established. I am in irrevocable
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agreement with God that was mediated by Jesus.
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Redemption, victory, wholeness, and freedom are
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my inheritance. His blood secures my standing
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with Him and in Him. Amen. Let's say that one
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more time together. One, two, three. God is a
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covenant God. I am in covenant with him. I remember
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the blood. I remember the Lord and his finished
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work on the cross. I honor the blood of Jesus
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and the covenant it established. I am in an irrevocable
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agreement with God that was mediated by Jesus.
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Redemption, victory, wholeness, and freedom.
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So as we've seen today, the covenant is God's
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chosen structure of relationship and promise.
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We see that terms are established in the covenant.
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Access is granted by the covenant. Blessings
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are secured. And identity, identity is defined.
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So the new covenant established by the blood
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of Jesus, it secures our standing with him and
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it secures our standing in him. This online worship
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experience was brought to you by the friends
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and partners of Elation Church.