Sunday Message - Pastor Trent Cargill (January 4, 2026) | Life Bible Church

Welcome to the Life Bible Church podcast. We

want to thank you for joining us today, and we

hope you find today's sermon impacting as you

listen to it wherever you are in your daily walk.

To find service times and watch messages online,

see our website at lifebiblechurch .org. Now,

enjoy this week's message. Praise God. Well,

man, it's good to be in the house of the Lord

this morning. It's good to start the year off

right. Here at church, come on. At church, we

like to party. We like to party. We love the

Lord very much, and we're not ashamed to show

it. Amen? Come on, I'm so glad to be here before

you to speak this morning and to see you guys

here. But before I get started, I have a couple

things I want to talk through, and then I want

to pray, of course, for our senior pastors who

are resting currently right now. And so it's

super important that they get that time because

Lord knows this is really the only time they

get to do it. So we're super grateful for them.

But I want to make a couple quick announcements.

In addition to the live video announcements,

I wanted to really emphasize our Wednesday night

classes and the classes that we offer here at

Life Bible Church. Now, I'm not here to pitch

you a timeshare or anything. This is simply just

something that's on my heart. I'm not here to

guilt trip you or make you think that you're

making the biggest, dumbest mistake ever for

not attending our classes. But have you ever

sat in on one of those timeshare meetings? It

is the worst. They make you feel like you are

a complete idiot for not taking their deal. And

also, they're always like, here, we'll give it

to you for this number. No, sorry, that's not

gonna work. Okay, how about this number? Why

didn't you start with that number? What are you

doing to me right now? Anyways, that's not what

I'm gonna do. I'm sharing with you something

that is really important because it's on my heart

and it's on the heart of us as a staff and as

a pastoral staff because the body of Christ is

meant to equip the saints. It is a part of the

body of Christ that we are called to do it. We're

commanded to do it in the scripture that we are

called to worship God and to equip the saints.

So we want to make sure that you get, more equipping

than beyond just Sunday morning. We want you

to actually receive more from God. And listen,

I know that with the internet, it's easier than

it's ever been to get content, especially content

about God, content about preachers and teachings.

And trust me, you can watch as much YouTube as

you want. and come to all these crazy things.

But here's the problem with that, is it's not

connected to the local house. Why would I go

to somebody else's house and eat all their food

when I can be in my house and eat the food that

my wife has prepared for me? I want to be in

my house eating the food that has been specifically

prepared for me. And so we have a whole group

of teachers and people that have put together

classes or have added on to curriculum in order

for us to be equipped, specifically us here in

this region and in this area. Because here's

the thing, Stephen Furtick doesn't know you.

He doesn't know your name. Some heresy thumper

on YouTube, he doesn't know you. What he's giving

is general content for the masses to get clicks

and views. He's after popularity. I don't know

the guy, but maybe that's what his heart is.

Most of the time it is. But that is the thing.

Whereas when you come to the actual local body

of Christ, what are we trying to do? Equip you.

Because I know your situation. I know this area.

I know the people that you are with. I know your

workplace. And so I'm giving you content that

is specialized for you. So I'm going to give

a couple shout -outs. Are you okay with that

if I take some time? Of course you are. I have

a mic. You have no say. But our Alpha class ran

by Troy and Carrie Malpass. Come on, give it

up for them. Our Alpha class is a place for new

believers to ask questions in a small group environment

so that you can get more intimate conversation,

especially regarding your own personal experiences,

because we all develop our own theology in our

minds because of our experiences, right? We're

all theologians. It's just most of us aren't

good ones because of our experiences. And so

it's great to come together and actually talk.

out our beliefs, talk out our experiences. Why

do you believe what you believe? And ask big

questions. We're not like the church in the 70s

and 80s that was like, listen, don't ask that

question quite yet. We want, trust me, we want

you to ask questions. We want to hear them because

great theologians ask good questions. And oftentimes

the best questions are the most simple ones.

There's also our spirit -led evangelism class

led by John Rist. Let's give it up for John.

What an amazing time. Essentially, it's a class

that wants to make sharing your faith easy. Sharing

the gospel should be the easiest thing a Christian

can do. And we want to equip you to be able to

make that easy because sometimes it doesn't come

as naturally for some as it does for others.

But every Christian is an evangelist. The excuse

of, well, he's more of a people person, so he's

more evangelistic gift. I'll let him share to

the Starbucks person I go to. Sorry, that does

not cut it for God. We are all called to share

the good news. Okay, so we want to have a place

where you can be equipped and actually have a

safe. place that you can operate in sharing your

faith with a group of experienced people that

know what it's like to go out into the world,

talk to a stranger and evangelize. There's also

our revelation class or our eternal class. It

talks about eternity. It lasts in eternity. But

it is a class that's taught by Pastor Brad himself,

of course. This is an incredible course. This

is not just for the advanced and anyone with

gray hair and above. This is for people that

desire to just want to understand the depth of

Scripture. And I would encourage you, if you

want to understand the depth of Scripture, it's

not about trying to just get in and just understand

everything. It's getting in the environment where

deeper topics are discussed. expose yourself

to those kinds of topics and conversations. Get

in to a place where people are talking about

their eschatology and end times and apocalyptic

literature and so on. And all of those things

that I just made you probably snore a little

bit. But they are very important things to understand

because how you believe Christ is gonna return

depends a lot about how you live now. And it

determines a lot about what you believe and how

you should live and how you should share the

gospel and how you interpret current times. Because

I'm telling you, what the world loves to live

off of is fear and what the book of Revelation

loves to give is hope. We need more of the hope

that the book of Revelation gives us. And so

Pastor Brad's class is an incredible place to

learn more about that. And then also, we have

a brand new class. That's being written from

scratch by Charlie Klein and Pastor Grace Knold.

This is an Old Testament survey class. Now, I

just shared the words Old Testament survey. And

for some people who have taken an Old Testament

survey class before, you're going, snore, sleep,

sleep. That sounds boring. I would rather listen

to Stephen on YouTube. But, because he's buff,

he's tan, you know, and he talks really good.

But I'm telling you, I would encourage you to

get in this class, especially if you want to

really see from a place of survey, which is as

if you were going on top of a mountain and picking

out landmarks in the area that you can connect

and get an idea so that when I'm reading Leviticus,

I know where I'm at in the grand story of Scripture.

And this is one of the big mistakes that Christians

make is they eisegete Scripture. They isolate

their exegesis. They take one verse and build

an entire theology around it. Whereas the best

theologians take all of scripture and build theology

on it. So we want to not get caught into these

little moments of looking at Scripture and going,

you know, I'm going to skip Leviticus because

it's mostly boring verses. But actually, you

know what makes the book of Leviticus so incredible?

It's the overarching story and beauty of what

it means to approach God, to worship Him. And

it's Jesus' favorite book that He's quoted in

the New Testament, by the way. Because Leviticus,

the heart of Leviticus is more than just about

sacrificing animals and having a clean and unclean

house. It is about a holy God who loves a holy

people. And you don't get that without having

an overview of what the Old Testament is about.

And if you're a Christian that goes, I just need

the New Testament, I don't need the Old because

we're in the New Covenant. Well, newsflash. Where

do you think the New Testament got all their

grand ideas? The Old Testament. Yes, and you

should read and know the Old Testament so you

know what translates over and is eternal and

what was temporary. So you don't make the mistake

of making what is temporal into eternal or making

what is common into something that it shouldn't

be or making holy into something that's common.

We need to understand the old to get the new

because you see the new in the old and you can

understand the new. with the old as well. We

need this kind of a class. So I encourage you,

you can go on to our website or you can use the

tap there on your phone to go up and sign up

for any of the classes that I just mentioned.

All right, I'm gonna close in prayer and then

I'll release you in Jesus' name. I'm just kidding,

we're not gonna do that. I could feel Brad's

eyes through the lens the moment I said that.

Eyes like fire, right? He's just missing the

hair like wool, but let's go on. Let me just

pray for you and then we'll jump in. Father in

heaven, I thank you for your presence and for

who you are. I thank you that you are an amazing

God who loves us dearly and that you gave your

son for us. That John says that this was love

made manifest. that Christ came and he died for

us. Lord Jesus, today is communion Sunday. This

is a day of remembering you. And though we should

live every day remembering what you've done for

us, this is a specific time of remembering the

elements, this sacrament that you have instituted

at Passover. Lord, that the church is supposed

to partake of, Lord, that you've commanded us

to remember what you did on Calvary. Because

God, we're a forgetful people. Lord, if we read

through the Old Testament, we will see just how

easy it is to forget your goodness, how easy

it is to forget the sacrifice and what you have

given for us, that we may have life and life

everlasting. So God, we honor you. And Lord,

I ask that you would anoint my lips, my mind,

Lord, that everything I say would be done through

the heart of the Father and according to your

will. And Lord Jesus, I bless you. And I ask

that you reveal yourself to us this morning.

so that we may reveal who you are to those in

the world around us. In Jesus' precious and mighty

name, everyone said, amen. Let's go to Mark chapter

Mark 14:22–24

14, verse 22 through 24. And if you're taking

notes, the title of my sermon this morning is

The Blood of the Covenant. The Blood of the Covenant.

Whenever I prep for a communion Sunday, I'm always

torn to have a specific message and do a little,

communion exhortation and almost every time the

Lord just wants me to teach on communion because

there's so much within communion to be taught

about. It's almost like you can never reach its

end of the depth that is within the table of

the Lord and the communion with Jesus. And so

we're going to take time to look at the communion

and I want to look at the blood of the covenant.

Mark chapter 14 verse 22 through 24 says this,

Mark 14:22–24

as they were eating, he took the bread And after

blessing it, he broke it and gave it to them.

And he said, take, this is my body. And he took

a cup. And when he had given thanks, he gave

it to them and they all drank of it. And he said

to them, this is my blood of the covenant, which

is poured out for many. This is my blood of the

covenant, which is poured out for many. You know,

it's really important to understand the type

of relationships that you have. And when I was

growing up, I was just a little lad. My parents,

of course, both worked in church and full -time

ministry. And so that means that I was babysat

a lot. And so I was babysat by people in the

church as well, which is great. And I was babysat

by this girl who I had a big crush on. And I

mean, I was like seven years old, seven or eight

years old. And she's like 10 years older than

me. She's in high school or something like that.

And I thought that I was really suave and I was

smooth. And, you know, I was like, you and me,

baby, we could run this joint. Why should you

just follow what my parents say and put me to

bed when I need to go to bed? Let's just stay

up. Let's watch a rom -com. Come on. It's really

weird the more I talk about it that I was like

that. But as a kid, I remember asking her officially,

will you be my girlfriend? And so my... In a

joking way, obviously, she said yes, went along

with it for a couple of hours, and that was it.

I came to find out that she already had a boyfriend

who was in high school, had a car. I can't compete

with that. I just have Hot Wheels. And it was

horrible when I found out that she had a boyfriend.

It was like an episode of Friends in the Cargill

home that day. Rain on the windowpane. They're

just staring, looking out. All by myself. Don't

want to be. What I thought our relationship was

like really wasn't what it was. And I think a

lot of Christians define their relationship with

Christ in certain ways. And the funny thing is,

as I've grown in my relationship with God, my

definition of my relationship with God has changed.

It should. It should grow. How my relationship

with Jesus was when I was eight, when I got saved,

is very different than now. It should be. It'd

be weird if it didn't change. But sometimes we

can misdefine, overemphasize an aspect of the

relationship or underemphasize an aspect of our

relationship. And we can actually have a definition

of what that relationship looks like where we

go, wait a minute, I thought that it was like

this. And Jesus goes, no, I don't know where

you got that. But it's supposed to be like this.

For some of us, our relationship with Jesus is

more like a friend. He's a friend. For some of

us, he's the holy king of all heaven and earth

that we give reverence and honor to. For some

of us, he's our deliverer who brings freedom.

For some of us, he's our healer. And so our relationship

is defined. But did you know that actually the

greatest definition to the relationship between

humanity and our God is not just friendship.

It's not just kingship, citizenship. The greatest

way to define the relationship between humanity

and God Is covenant. Covenantal relationship.

That's deeper than friendship. That's more than

just a king and a citizen. We have covenant together.

And when we come to the table of the Lord. It

is a reminder. Of that relationship. That this

relationship is covenantal. And we need to understand

what is a covenant. Because the idea of covenant

is not really used in our modern vernacular.

I never said to my mom and dad, do you covenant

with me that we're going to go to Baskin Robbins

after the swimming pool today? No, it's, do you

pinky swear, cross your heart, hope to die, you

know, all this kind of stuff. Do you promise?

One of the ways that we define covenant in the

English, through Webster's definition of the

word covenant, is this. It is a usual, formal,

it is usually formal, solemn, and a binding agreement.

A written agreement of promise, usually under

seal between two or more parties, especially

for the performance of some action. It should

be on the screen there. It is a good definition.

It's close, close enough. But it falls short

of some of the fullness and the richness of what

the word covenant meant in biblical times. In

the Hebrew, the word beret, or beret, means covenant

or to be in league. The possible roots of this

word means bara, which means to eat, or bereth,

which means to cut, or baru, which means to bind.

Eating is mentioned because in ancient times

they would eat covenantal meals together. Cutting

is mentioned because they would bring a sacrificial

animal and cut it in half as a sign of the covenant.

Bind is brought up because it signifies taking

something weaker and binding it to something

stronger. Making what was weaker stronger and

making no longer separate but together. They're

seen as one. Covenant in the Old Testament involved

meal, sacrifice, and the binding together of

something weaker to something stronger. And that

they would not just be weaker and stronger, but

that they would become one. This is what covenant

really means. And so we're gonna talk a little

bit about something. If you just let me be a

history nerd for a second. Because I love history.

History was one of the things I excelled at in

school and I didn't excel at much. That's why

I'm a pastor. And I loved understanding some

of the ancient things regarding covenant because

God takes something that is worldly and redeems

it through his holy nature and his holy language.

There is something in ancient culture called

the Caesarian and Vassal Treaty. And so I'm going

to really actually talk about what covenant is

through this type of treaty. And so that we can

have an understanding of what covenant is. Because

if we don't understand what covenant is, we're

not going to understand the significance of the

blood of this covenant. The covenant, the first

thing is the preamble, which is to identify the

Caesarian and to identify the vassal. This is

an ancient covenant format. used especially in

the ancient Near East, the Hittites, the Assyrians,

and later the Israelites used this. There would

be a mighty king, who is the Caesarian, establishes

a binding relationship with a lesser king or

people, the vassal. That would be you and me.

The preamble is we identify the greater king.

This establishes who is making the covenant.

And it emphasizes the authority and legitimacy

of the one making the covenant. Exodus 20 verse

Exodus 20:2

2 says, I am the Lord your God. What is that?

That is him establishing I'm the greater king

in this relationship. I am the one who is establishing

this covenant between you and me. I'm the one

who has the authority to do so. And I alone have

the legitimacy to do so. God identifies himself

first, not the people. If you struggle with identity

issues, how you're going to actually find peace

in who you are is not through discovering yourself.

Christ is not meant to help you find yourself.

Christianity is not an additional way, as all

these other religions, in order to just find

true fulfillment in your life. No, Christianity

is about understanding who God is because he's

revealed himself first to us. The Bible is not

a book about the Israelites. The Bible is not

a book about Christians. The Bible is a book

about God. One of the biggest mistakes Christians

do when they read the Bible is they read the

verse. about themselves first. If you look for

you in the verse before you look for God, you

come to a wrong conclusion. You read about Moses

and you say, oh, I'm Moses. You're gonna mess

up. You ate Moses. You read Joshua and say, whoo,

I'm a kick butt, kicking butt, taking names kind

of conqueror. No, you're not. Man, you read about

Jeremiah. You're going to read about John the

Baptist. You're going to read about Peter. And

you think, I'm like them. No, no, no, no. Don't

look for you. Because trust me, anybody who tries

to find themselves will always be disappointed.

But you go looking for God. Anybody who's pursued

God wholeheartedly has always been satisfied.

Go to the scripture. And this is what the book

of Hebrews is about. If you need a quick snippet

of what the Old Testament is about, go read Hebrews.

And you'll see that Hebrews takes that role of

exegeting the Old Testament through the lens

of where's Jesus in this? He goes. In creation,

it was Jesus. With Moses, well, Jesus is better

than Moses. With the angels, well, Jesus is better

than the angels. With all the sacrificial things

going on in the Old Testament, with all the lambs,

well, Jesus is the greatest lamb. Jesus is the

greatest priest. Because that's what the Bible's

about. So the first thing about this covenant

is who's the greater king? The next thing is

the historical prologue which recounts the past

relationship and the Caesarian's benevolent acts

within the relationship. So, in other words,

why loyalty is owed to God? God's not asking

for loyalty. He's owed it. God's not asking for

your worship. He's owed it. He's not asking for

your tithe. He's owed it. And he has the full

track record to prove that he is. He has every

reason of why he is Oded. But the biggest lie

we will get into is our personal experience theology

that has a list of reasons why he's not. And

for you to say that because of what I've been

through, my experiences say something different

than the word of God. So therefore, my truth

is greater than the truth of God, which is a

little wacko, don't you think? We have to go

to the word and go, it's not my life. You know,

whenever I go to the Bible, I have to try and

not think about my experiences. I have to go

to the word and look at what is true and then

bring his truth into my experiences. Because

it will change how I experience things. God establishes

grounds for obedience in grace, not coercion.

He's not trying to convince you to obey him.

The Bible is not a convincing book. A lot of

people back in, you know, when atheism was a

huge thing back in, you know, the... 50s and

60s and all that kind of stuff. And people started

to read Genesis 1 -1 through the lens of trying

to fight against atheism. You're not gonna really

convince an atheist that atheism isn't true with

Genesis 1 -1 because it's not trying to convince

anybody that God is real. It just says, in the

beginning, there was God. Well, that's all the

convincing I need. Just believe a book that says

it is. Well, yeah, if you believe that the book

is what the book says it is about itself, which

is truth. So God is not trying to convince you

to obey him. He's just saying you must obey.

He's owed obedience through his loyalty. Exodus

20 verse two says this. who brought you out of

the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

So we see in verse one, he says, I am the Lord,

your God, Caesarian King. And I am the one who

brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of

the house of slavery. So that means what? I have

done what is necessary to show you that I'm faithful.

to show you that I am loving, to show you that

I am good, to show you, I have done everything

to possibly show to humanity the kind of God

that I am. The question is not about whether

I am who I am, but do you believe I am who I

say I am? The next thing is the stipulations,

which is the terms of the covenant. So he's the

king who establishes the covenant. He's the king

who deserves. And is the one who is owed loyalty

to this covenant. He's proven himself. And now

he defines how the lesser king should live in

the relationship with the greater king. Because

every good relationship has boundaries. Every

good relationship has rules. Anybody who tells

you that rules are what keep you from actually

having happiness and joy. Is stupid. I'm just

going to say it how it is. They're dum -dums.

You need rules. In a relationship. You need boundaries.

In a relationship. And they need to be established.

Not just assumed. They have to be established.

And defined. Not just assumed. So let me tell

you, parents, how many times have you established

the rules of your house? How many times do your

kids make assumptions and it gets them into trouble?

How often do we get with God and we make an assumption?

So God has made a way for us to. Know completely

what he requires. And that is in the law. The

book of Leviticus, the book of Exodus, the book

of Numbers, Deuteronomy, where he's defining

all these laws is actually two different types

of laws. There's the general stipulations of

the general laws, which is exclusive loyalty.

Not only do you owe me loyalty, but I am owed

exclusive loyalty. There's no alliances with

rival powers that should be involved. You shall

have no other gods before me. Exodus 20 verse

Exodus 20:3

3. You shall have no other gods before me. So

he establishes the rule, the law, the stipulation.

Listen, if you're going to marry me, you cannot

have any other boyfriends. No other husbands.

We are not Mormon. Okay? One man, one woman.

I'm gonna get in trouble. I'm gonna stop there.

I can keep going. I'm not. Even together. Stop

it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it. Okay.

No other gods before me. How many other things

do we give loyalty to in this life? How many

things Because here's the thing, if God is only

friend, you can have many friends. There's no

limit on the amount of friends you can have.

But there's a limit on how many people you can

marry. What's the difference? Covenant. That's

the difference. That's why it's so important

to understand how you define your relationship

with Jesus. Because if you just think this is

a friendship personal thing, you're gonna miss

out on a lot. If you think this is only because

of law and only because he's a boss watching

your life with a hammer above your head just

waiting for you to make a mistake, bam! I heard

that swear word of that person in the highway,

cut you off. Flat tire, bam! Once again, if you

understand covenant, you know that that's not

how God is. So there's general stipulations,

which is the 10 commandments. And then there's

all the specific regulations, which is detailed

laws and expectations. These regard ethical laws.

These are social laws, ritual obligations. He

defines, look, listen, I'm not gonna just define

covenant of like here, you shall not have any

other gods before me, but here's how I want you

to worship. That's what Leviticus is about. Because

worship back then was through sacrifices. Today,

sacrifice of my lips and the lifting up of my

hands be like the evening sacrifice. How should

you read the book of Leviticus? Well, instead

of putting a lamb there, you know, read. that

Jesus is the lamb who is the all -sufficient

sacrifice. But then you have to read Romans 12,

1, where Paul actually takes the concept of sacrifice

and now translate it as a theological concept

to the new covenant and says, your sacrifices

are actually your life, living, that worship

to God is not contained in a 45 -minute worship

service. It is your continual living. And so

how do you smell as a pleasing aroma to God on

Monday through Saturday, not just Sunday, Do

you smell pleasing to God for 45 minutes and

then you smell like complete garbage the rest

of the week? I'm telling you, the Old Testament's

really good. You should read it. This defines

faithful relationship. God sets these laws in

motion because he wants to define what faithfulness

actually looks like. What does love actually

look like? What does honor actually look like?

Number four, provision for deposition and public

reading. So not only are the laws meant to be

defined, they're to be written and then read

to the whole nation. He ensures the treaty is

preserved and remembered. Do you know why it's

called the mercy seat back in the tabernacle

of Moses? Because in a Caesarian vassal contract,

the king would actually, on his throne, would

keep the law of the covenant under a footstool.

And so when he would sit, he could look down

and see the law. And it's a mercy seat because

now, because, spoilers if you haven't read the

Bible, but they break the covenant between God.

And them. And so the law has been broken. And

so now all of the curses that are aligned with

the law should be poured out. And the consequences

of breaking that covenant should be poured out

on all the people. But it's the mercy seat, not

the judgment seat. Why? Because of a word in

the Old Testament called atonement. Where the

blood of the lamb was poured out on the mercy

seat. so that when God, the greater king, looked

at the violations and looked at the law, he would

not see the violation of his people in the breaking

of the covenant. He would see the blood of the

sacrifice and see the covenant unbroken. So the

covenant that we have is supposed to be visible,

not hidden. It's always visible to God. It should

always be visible to us. Why should I read my

Bible every day? Because you're reading covenant.

This is a covenant book. Do you know the word

testament? It's actually the word covenant. This

is the old covenant and the new covenant. That

as we read this, this is why it's so important

for us to understand this part of a relationship

with God. Because we're not just reading a story

of salvation. We're reading how God brings salvation.

He brings salvation through covenant. It's his

very vessel he uses to carry something priceless.

It is the thing that, brings salvation to us.

It is covenant. I have a relationship with God

because of his desire of covenant with me. And

so regular written copies were stored in sacred

places. Where was the law placed in the most

sacred place in all of Israel? Let me ask you,

where is the law stored in your life? Is it stored

in the outer courts or is it stored in the most

holy place? Your innermost being. The place that

only one priest can get to. The one priest who

is Christ. This is not for everybody. But where

is that word? It's the place where Christ is

and he goes as our high priest. Then there's

witnesses. to this covenant. There has to be

witnesses to validate the treaty. Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 30:19

30 verse 19 says, I call heaven and earth to

witness against you today. Creation itself is

a witness of our God and his covenant. When God

made a covenant with Noah, What did he use as

a way to be a witness to Noah and every future

generation afterwards? Yeah, it wasn't a pride

thing back then like it is today. A rainbow.

The rainbow is not a symbol of pride and sexual

preference. The rainbow is a sign of covenant.

Romans 1, 19 through 20. For what can be known

about God is plain to them because God has shown

it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely

his eternal power and divine nature, have been

clearly perceived ever since the creation of

the world. In the things that have been made,

so they are without excuse. Which means all of

creation is a witness to the covenant of God.

Then there is the blessings and curses. Man,

I really gotta speed this up. I'm gonna go a

little faster for you. Explains here the reasons

why there needs to be blessing and cursings because

there needs to be an explanation of the consequences

of obedience or rebellion. There's blessings

of loyalty and there's curses for disobedience.

Go read Leviticus chapter 26 and Deuteronomy

Leviticus 26 · chapter mention

28. Write those down in your notes for later

reading. I encourage you to go read this because

Read the blessings of your obedience and read

the curses of disobedience. And I want you to

understand that these are not random punishments.

They are covenantal consequences. If I cheat

on my wife, her punching me in the face is not

random. Not saying that that's what God does,

even though that might be what we deserve. But

when we are in covenant with God and we rebel,

why are we shocked that our life is in chaos

and despair and destruction? God, why is this

happening to me? Well, there's rebellion in your

life. Obey. But I don't. Can you just remove

the consequences? But let me keep living how

I wanna live. No. Because then, what's the...

I'm not gonna go there. I'm not gonna go there.

I'm just gonna let it be. Essentially, it's the

idea that it's like, why would you not discipline

your child? When they rebel against you. Because

if they do and you don't discipline them, then

they see that their rebellion has no consequence

to it. They don't see the pain it causes. Yes,

you rebel. I will cause you pain. But have your

parents ever said this to you? This is gonna

hurt me a lot more than it's gonna hurt you.

As a kid, you're like, that's the biggest lie

ever. As a parent, there's nothing more true.

Why does God want us to understand the consequences

of covenant through obedience or through rebellion?

Because God wants to relate to his people covenantally,

not casually. The reason why there's a curse

in rebellion is because this ain't casual. There's

consequences to this because God takes it seriously.

Obedience is relational loyalty, not legalism.

Obedience is relational loyalty, not legalism.

I don't take care of my wife when she's sick

because I just simply said a vow. Five years

ago. I do it because I have relationship with

my wife. And I love her. I care for her. And

she will do the same for me. And she will do,

she'll take care of me way better than I can

take care of her. How much so with God? This

is why it's so important that we define our relationship

with God as covenantal. Not as a boss. Because

if we see him as a boss, we will see our relationship

and our obedience as legalism. God used what

was familiar to Israel. The covenantal system

that I just talked about was happening before

God did this at Mount Sinai. This was happening

in rebellious nations all around the world at

the time. But God takes something familiar that

the Israelites would have known. and he rebrands

it and turns it into something with mercy and

holiness. We're still defining covenant. In the

Greek, is a word that I don't want to attempt

to announce, but essentially the idea is a unilateral

concept, which means one side makes the decisions

and sets the boundaries, and the other side can

only accept it or reject it. They can't change

the terms of the covenant or negotiate them.

So God is always the one who initiates and sets

the boundaries for the covenant. God alone has

the mind, the authority, and the ability to make

the covenant effective. Which means what? We

don't get to go to God and say, God, can I add

something really quick? You don't go to God and

say, can we negotiate what kind of relationship

we should have? Let's talk about this a little

bit. No, no, no. It's one side who sets everything

and your job is to say yes to it or no to it.

We're not here to debate with God. We're not

here to convince him of, well, if you just let

me have this, I'll still serve you in many ways.

The fact that you keep that makes all of your

service worthless. And why is it defined that

way? Covenant. So in summary, if you're taking

notes, I'm sure you're going to write all this

down. A covenant is an agreement where God acts

as the supreme king, holding the authority to

establish and set the rules and limits of his

covenant. There you go. That is my definition

of covenant. But now we're gonna talk about Another

aspect of the covenant, which is the Trinity

within covenant. The Old Testament's not just

the covenant of the Father, and the New Testament's

the covenant of the Son, and the book of Acts

is just the covenant of the Holy Spirit. All

three are present within every covenant throughout

Scripture. It's not just the Father in the Old.

The Son is present in the Old Covenant, in all

of them. The Holy Spirit is present in all of

them. I'll prove it to you. Do you have that

slide of my little graph that I made? I'm very

proud of it, so I hope you see it. If not, that's

okay. The whole message just falls apart, but...

I'm kidding. You're doing a great job. The very

center of covenantal theology is the threeness

of God's person. Each divine covenant has basically

three parts to them. And any covenant is incomplete

and therefore invalid without the testimony of

these three things. Number one, the words or

promises of the covenant. Number two, the blood

of the covenant. Number three, the seal of the

covenant. The triune God gave triune covenants.

Each person in the Trinity had a part in making,

ratifying, and the sealing of the covenants.

So I'll show you in the graph. Is it out there?

That dingo ate my baby. Dang it. All right. Sorry,

I'm just trying to cope. The father. This is

very serious, okay? Here, can you see that? Just

kidding. The words and the promises of the covenant.

Number one, at least you can write it down in

your notes because I know you're all taking notes.

The Father is the originator, initiator, covenant

maker, and keeper. He's the source, he's the

first, and he's the beginning. He is the Father's,

the covenant is the Father's word to us. The

Son, the sacrifice of body and blood, the second

person, the mediator and ratifier of the covenant.

He is the blood of the covenant, which is the

Son's work for us. So the covenant is the Father's

word to us. The Son is the work for us. And then

the Holy Spirit, the executor appointed to carry

out the will and testament of the Father and

the Son, the third person, the completer and

the fulfiller of the covenant, the seal of the

covenant. The Holy Spirit's work in us. The Father's

word to us, the Son's work for us, and the Holy

Spirit's work in us. All present in covenant.

And I don't have time to discuss the word of

the covenant or the seal of the covenant, but

I do want to discuss the blood of the covenant.

And I want to define exactly what covenant we

have because there are, I believe, nine covenants

within all of scripture, but this one, the one

that we are currently in, is called the new covenant.

The new covenant which all previous covenants

foreshadowed is personified in the Lord Jesus

Christ. Jesus is covenant himself. It encompasses

salvation, justification, regeneration, assurance,

sanctification, adoption, and glorification,

collectively known as the covenant of the kingdom.

This covenant extends beyond the Jewish people

to include the Gentiles, It involves the outpouring

of the Holy Spirit, bringing blessings such as

healings, miracles, and deliverance. Additionally,

it guarantees resurrection and eternal life,

allowing us to experience a relationship with

Jesus both now and eternally. This incredible

covenant is only possible through the blood of

Christ, which is essential for the relationship

we are meant to have with God. The blood of Christ

is the very blood of the covenant, making it

crucial for all Christians to understand its

significance. We just defined the covenant, now

we define the blood. Whose blood is the blood

of the covenant? What makes this relationship

possible with God? If there is no blood, there

is no covenant. So whose blood are we to partake

in? And if you're here visiting church, maybe

for the first time in your life, you're thinking,

what did I just walk into? We have to drink some

guy's blood. Don't feel bad. The Romans made

the same mistake. There it is. Take pictures

quickly before it leaves. No, I encourage you,

take pictures because you need to know. Because

we're forgetful. It's why God chose it to be

written. So we need to read it. We need to see

it. In order for us to know it, to believe it,

to live it. Okay, I'm moving on. Put your phones

down. Why must there be blood offered in a covenant

with God? Because a covenant was viewed as a

life and death commitment and thus required bloodshed.

The sacrificial blood used to make the covenant

official represented the life commitment of those

entering into the covenant. Let's go to Hebrews

chapter nine. We're gonna spend majority of our

time here. In Hebrews chapter nine, verse 15,

it says here, therefore he is the mediator of

a new covenant so that those who are called may

receive the promised eternal inheritance since

a death has occurred. Whose death? A death, one

death has occurred that has made this covenant

possible. What do we come to the table of the

Lord to do? To remember one death. The death

that made this life possible. Since a death has

occurred that redeems them. This is a death that

saves. Which is the most contrary concept I could

ever wrap my head around. That God saved us,

gave us life by dying. We need to understand

that the life we live is because of his death.

And the only way you actually get to live the

life with Christ is if we die with Christ, which

is Paul's theology that he discusses in multiple

aspects of the epistles where he talks about,

which he's just emphasizing the teaching of Christ

when Christ actually gave his teaching on it,

which is if you want to follow me, you must deny

yourself, take up your cross. Why will you carry

a cross? Because you're on your way to die. And

follow me. What are we following Jesus to? No,

we're not following Jesus to. We're following

Jesus through death. Christ established covenant

through death. Not over it, not around it, not

above it. He did not work his way to be able

to still hold on to his life. and establish relationship

with us. Uh -uh. God said, no, no, no. I'm gonna

establish a covenant that I know I have to go

through death to bring life. So why do we think

we can have life with Christ and get around death?

I'm not just talking about death as in the natural

sense. I'm talking about it in the spiritual

sense as well. What are the things in my life

that I'm still alive to that I haven't inherited

the life of Christ because I'm still living in

the ways of the world? This is a death that is

required. Why is blood required? Because death

is required. Jesus didn't stop the crucifixion

at the whipping post. His blood was spilled.

Why die? His blood was spilled. When they would

punch him in the face, blood coming from his

brow. Blood's been spilled, Lord. Is it enough?

Not enough. You've been whipped to the point

of your ribs have been shown. Your flesh has

been so mangled you become unrecognizable as

a human person. Is that enough? No. You've been

on the cross long enough. You're suffocating

on the very blood that would give us life. You're

suffocating on the very thing that would let

us continue breathing. Is it enough? No. Because

the blood cannot do its work until something

has died. Because in order for covenant to happen,

death is required. In order for us to have a

relationship with Christ, it's not just that

you can spill some blood and say that you're

in covenant with God. Something has to die. And

God showed us this in his life. His blood was

made available to all of creation upon his death.

When I come to the table of the Lord, I come

to remember his death. You know, Jesus makes

a reference to the old covenant in Mark that

we just read at the beginning of the sermon.

He says, this is my blood of the covenant. You

know he's referencing Moses. Exodus 24 verse

eight says this. And Moses took the blood and

threw it on the people. Behold, the blood of

the covenant that the Lord has made with you

in accordance with all these words. See, Moses

sprinkled the blood of animals on the people,

but Christ, his blood is sprinkled on the inside

of people. This blood of the covenant is not

external. It is internal. The blood of the covenant

works internally and eternally. Christ did not

abolish covenant language. He claimed it. He

did not remove the need for sacrifice. He became

the sacrifice himself. God is always after the

inner transformation of his people. The blood

of Christ was not spilled so that you would have

a different moral view. The blood of Christ was

not spilled just so that you could follow rules

and be a good person. The blood of Christ was

spilled so that you would be changed internally,

transformed eternally, glorified with him. The

blood of Christ should change me. Did you know

that the early church Their theology was that

the partaking of the communion table was an act

of transformation. It was a part of sanctification.

What did the priests use to cleanse the altars?

The blood. What did the priests use to cleanse

the priests? The blood. The blood is present.

In every aspect of covenant. And it is required.

For this covenant. To be established. And for

it to do. It's fulfilling work. Of transforming

us. From people who are lost. Broken. Into those

who are whole. Found and adopted. In the name

of Jesus Christ. It's because of his blood. That

I have covenant. The blood of Christ. Is necessary.

1 John 1 .7 says. But if we walk in the light

as he is in the light. We have fellowship with

one another. And the blood of Jesus. His son.

Cleanses us. From all sin. The blood transforms.

And the blood cleanses. Did you know that the

word to cleanse. Means to free from filth. Which

means any part of your past. any part of your

heritage, any part of the horrible decisions

you might have made in this life, if you have

received the blood of Christ, you are not just

living in tolerance of filth. You are free from

it. That you are no longer bound to the way that

your dad or your mom was. You are not bound to

the way your grandfather was or your great -grandfather

was. That you are now new and that you have a

new... person that you are made and formed into

the image of. And it is not your dad. It is not

your mom. It's not a relative. It's not that

boss. It is Jesus Christ himself. It cleanses

us. He frees us from the filth. He frees us from

the curse. He frees us from that identity. He

frees us from that addiction. It frees us from

those issues and those places of bondage. The

blood of Christ is stronger and greater than

any chain. It's greater than any family tree.

It's greater than any word you've said over yourself

or someone has said over you. The blood of Christ

speaks a better word. The blood justifies. I'm

going long, but I don't care. The blood justifies.

The justification is the process whereby the

sinner comes to be accepted by God. You need

to stop fighting for approval. You already have

it because of his blood for you. The blood justifies.

It says that we are in right standing. to earn

the place I have before God. It is only him and

his blood that has brought me to a covenant that

is eternal and everlasting. The blood brings

fellowship. I have covenant, I have communion.

The idea of communion is fellowship, to commune

with God himself because this is a table that

the ushers, yes, have beautifully placed before

us, but in the spirit, Christ himself has set

these elements in motion. He himself has offered

us his body. He himself has offered us this blood.

And it is he who is with us. To see us partake

in it. Christ didn't leave the table as they

partook. He was right there watching them partake

of his life, of his body, and of his blood. Thank

you for taking the time to listen to this week's

message. We are so grateful for those who tune

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