Agonizing Over Squandered Promises

If you would, take your Bibles if you would, please, and turn to Hebrews chapter 8. We're going to read verses 10 through 13, and then turn to Jeremiah 31, 31. If you're taking notes, the title for today's message is "Agonizing Over Squandered Promises." And I aim to help us to ascertain the heart of Jeremiah, the weeping prophet today, whom agonized over lost promises, those who were right before him engaging in sin, ignoring God, and missing life in Christ. And so we'll see the New Covenant in the Old Testament today, after we read in Hebrews chapter 8, verses 10, all the way to the end.

Hebrews 8, 10 says, "For this is the covenant that I make with the house of Israel, and after those days says the Lord, I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts." The truth that has been, that God's law has been written on our hearts is restated in Romans chapter 2, verse 15. And as we take our time and go through this text, hold your place, if you would, please, here at Hebrews chapter 8. And in regards to the fact we'll not only write His laws on your minds and write them on your hearts, that's His part. I would invite you to hold your place and turn to Mark chapter 12, verse 30, and see your part. And so in regards to Mark chapter 12, verse 30, turn there, if you would, and I want to see today if we could understand our part in this covenant process.

In Mark chapter 12, we'll start in verse 29, Jesus reiterates the Shema. And the Shema is a monotheistic summary of the Old Covenant, and this was the main thing for Israel in the Old Testament, the Shema, the fact that they have a monotheistic God in the midst of a pagan nation who worshipped polytheistically. And so in Mark 12, verse 29, Jesus answered, "Therefore, the foremost is, here, O Israel, the Lord our God is one." And so this is the Shema. Now, theologically, the Shema is significant because as two points, point A is that God states who He is, okay? And here it is. And verse, it says that the Lord is, our God is one. And so now this is the first part, and He states who He is. The second part is that God then demands total allegiance. This is very significant in how we then are totally dedicated to the Lord.

Verse 30 clarifies, "And you shall," okay? So now this is your part, you shall. And just as you read the Ten Commandments, the word "shall" is not a suggestion, it is a command. And so now in verse 30, "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart." There is no room in your heart for idols. There is no room in your heart for cheating on God with something else, to yield your desires to something other than God primarily.

And then it goes on to say, "To clarify your part and with all of your soul," okay? Your whole soul is saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. And so you are not lord of your own soul, master of your own destiny. God is Lord and Savior. And then you are not only to yield your heart and your soul and to serve God with all of your heart and your soul, this is also, and with all your mind. And so this presupposes that we would view all of education and all of life through a biblical worldview. If you're going to love God with all of your mind, you have to see things through Scripture. You can't see them for your own opinion or your own thoughts or through secular psychology or secular science or anything. There's good biblical science out there, but you have to see everything through a biblical worldview. And so think scripturally about parenting, think, scripturally about education, think, scripturally about marriage, think, scripturally about church. We live in a day and age to where the idea of church has been hijacked and redefined. The church growth movement has made it to where most can attend, give, and hide their sin, and they feel like they're going to church, and that's not church.

And if you go on and on and on, but to love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind, and then to keep your mind, to keep your heart, to keep your soul, to keep your energy reserved for what you want to do, that is being lord of your own life. Rather, pouring out your strength to love God and to love others. Rather, we give of our strength, our time and our energy, our blood, and our sweat, and our tears, and our time so that we empty ourselves out like a cup that is completely emptied at the end of the day. You've got nothing left. You've given it all to God in His glory, and then He fills you back up. So to love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength is the bare minimum. This is not a super spiritual Christian. This is the demand that God lays as a standard. This is the Shema, and then as well the second is like it, "You shall love their neighbor as yourself."

And so back to Hebrews, if you would, when it comes to God stating that "I will write," He has written this "I will" statement from God. He has written His law through the work of His Holy Spirit to your heart and soul. And John 14.26 explains the fact that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to teach you the text, to teach you the truth, to teach you. He's going to do that. And so the priests are no longer essential, okay? Now you have a personal relationship with the High Priest, Jesus Christ.

"And everyone his brother is saying, 'Know the Lord, for all will know me.' Now this is not a statement of universalism in that all people will know God personally. This is definitely an intimate personal knowledge, a salvific knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a reference to the fact that all that the Father gives Jesus will come to Jesus. John 6.37 says, 'All that the Father gives to me will come, so all whom have been elected will be converted. For all will know God, for all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.' Verse 12. 'For I will be merciful to their iniquities.'

At this point we should pause and say, 'Praise God that our sins and our lawless deeds are remembered no more by God.' And if you're taking notes, you can make a reference here to Hebrews 10.17 that says, 'And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.' Hebrews 10.17, what a beautiful verse in the fact that God will remember our sins no more. If you want another one, Psalm 103.12 is fantastic because the imagery is rich. And if you have a globe at your house, you could spin the globe and quote this verse. Psalm 103.12 says, 'As far as the east is from the west, God has removed our transgressions.' And so if you're spinning the globe east, it'll never catch up to the west. As far as you want to spin and spin, and spin, you'll never ever catch up to what's out west. Now this is the imagery because God chooses not to remember them, not that He can't. This is the fact that God is remembering on purpose the fact that He has forgiven your sins and He views you clean in Christ.

And then in verse 13 it says, 'And when He said, 'A new covenant,' He has made the first obsolete. But whatever has become obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.'"

Lord, thank You so much for this text. And I pray that You would help us to extract a little bit more out of it before we move on to chapter 9 and help us, Lord, to ascertain the conviction behind the author here of the book of Hebrews, You through the prophet Jeremiah, which the preacher of Hebrews is reiterating. Help us to grab onto that and apply it to our life. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

And so the preacher of this wonderful sermon called Hebrews, which was made into a letter, now we come to this particular point to where the preacher quotes a text out of the Old Testament, which is the longest text recorded from the Old Testament in the New Testament. And he chooses the weeping prophet Jeremiah to drive home his point. And that's on purpose because the author of this sermon, Hebrews, is agonizing and weeping for Israel right in front of him, the Hebrews, whom are missing Christ. They're drifting away from Jesus, and therefore going the better promises that Christ died to deliver.

And so now part of the reason why the author of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah is because he feels like Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. And these better promises, look with me in Hebrews 8-6, these better promises are truly a ministry of Jesus Christ. And so Jesus Christ is personally being rejected by the people, and this is causing the preacher of Hebrews to agonize. In Hebrews 8-6 it says, "But now he," being Jesus, "has obtained a more excellent ministry." This is a ministry of Jesus Christ by as much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. So Jesus Christ is mediating. You can look at the fact that it's not just one whom is arbitrating, he is mediating, ministering, delivering, personally reaching people. He is working hard to distribute these better promises, and yet mass rejection is happening.

The heart behind this quote is in Jeremiah 31-31, and I ask you to turn there if you would to Jeremiah 31-31, and let's take a look at the fact that Hebrews 8-8-11 is directly quoted from Jeremiah 31 through 34. And so Jeremiah 31-31 is exactly where this preacher is quoting from, and I want to read it so that we can just kind of pick up on some of the small nuances that are a bit different. In Jeremiah 31-31 it's a quote from Hebrews 8-8, "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah." The house of Israel and the house of Judah had been separate. They had different kings, different prophets, and God is saying, "Everyone everywhere needs to know about My new covenant." He's not excluding anybody. The old covenant was specific to just Israel, but now the new covenant is expanded to everyone.

In verse 9, "Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them." Isn't that interesting? God likens himself so close to Israel that He does the work of a husband, declares the Lord. In verse 33, "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days." It's important here to recognize that Israel is also a type in that all the promises don't stop with Israel, but the salvific plan of God, the one plan of God, is through Israel. Okay? This is the covenant which I will make with the house, okay? The house of Israel after those days declares the Lord. "I will put My law within them and I will write within them and on their heart I will write it, and I will be their God and they shall be My people."

Here in verse 34 is directly quoted from Hebrews 8, 11, "They will not teach again each man his own neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord for they will all know me.'" Okay? Those who are brought into the new covenant will know Christ, and this is for both Jew and Gentile. "From the least of them to the greatest of them declares the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity." Who does God forgive? Those who repent and believe. Is it just Israel? No, it's for everyone who repents and believe. He will forgive their sin and I will remember them no more.

Now as the prophet Jeremiah is the weeping prophet, you can look back if you would like to Jeremiah chapter 9 and see exactly where he gets his title name. Jeremiah chapter 9 and verse 1. This is where it's quoted as he being the weeping prophet. He says here, "Oh, that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep, weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people. Oh, that I had in the desert a wayfarer's lodging place, that I might leave my people and go from them, for all of them are adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. They bend their tongue like their bow lies, if not truth prevail in the land, for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me declares the Lord."

And as the rest of this chapter unfolds, Jeremiah quotes the fact that they are dealing with craftiness and slanderous deceit and committing iniquities. And then in verse 8, their tongue is a deadly arrow. It speaks deceit. "With his mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor, but inwardly he sets an ambush for him." What hypocrisy. In verse 9, "Shall I not punish them for these things?" declares the Lord. "On a nation such as this, shall I not avenge myself?"

As you get humanity through the lens of Jeremiah, would we not say the same? Nothing's changed. There's still a sea of lostness before us, and to weep over that is to have the heart of Jeremiah. And so Jeremiah was a weeping prophet because he saw people in front of him forsaking God for grotesque sin, and God then handing them over to exile in Babylonia. And so Jeremiah was in Judah under King Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah. And all through these kings, all through this time, Jeremiah wept, wept because his people endured such things as famine and were given over to the sword because of their sin.

Jeremiah's prophecies, they were ignored, his counsel unyielded, his writings were even shredded by kings, his reputation mocked, and his life was ended. He had a hit list. He was on a hit list. His life was to be ended. I want you to know that like Jesus Christ, he was a man of sorrows. In Isaiah chapter 53 verse 3, it says that Jesus prophetically would be a man of sorrows. And so a man of sorrows, Jeremiah was. In fact, the entire book of Lamentations records his laments. So Jeremiah was, in addition to all of this, forbidden to marry, endured the fact that his preaching yielded little results. And of those little results, those results were superficial and short lived. So all of Judah then was given to apostasies and idolatries and such mass corruption.

Jeremiah's ministry started when he was 14 years old and he was faithful all the way through 41 years of preaching and facing all kinds of awful rejection and lots of severe opposition. Yet he was faithful. His job, root, out and replant despite the opposition, root, out the sin and replant the new covenant. So he was faithful all the way through, enduring death threats. He wouldn't stop preaching even if he had death threats. And then his hometown friends even accused him. His king wanted to kill him and the high priest even betrayed him. He was very patriotic for the nation of Israel, but he was viewed as a traitor. He was God's prophet, but he was treated like a pagan. This is the prophet Jeremiah.

Jeremiah agonized over the sins of Israel, just like Jesus wept and agonized over the sins of Israel. John 11:35, the shortest verse in all the Bible says, Jesus wept. And then now you see the author of Hebrews agonizing over the Hebrews drifting from the new covenant. Now the strategy that God uses through the preacher of Hebrews to reach these drifting Hebrews was that of comparison. And this is healthy for our own life. If you have something that you're struggling with, perception really does help to clarify. And so you can see just how good you have it when you think of the antithesis of it. And this is the strategy from the whole book of Hebrews.

And so the book of Hebrews is establishing something that is good or credible or okay as compared to something that is much better or much greater. And so in the beginning, the author compares angels and their good name to the fact that Christ has a more excellent name in Hebrews 1.4. And by way of application, we do not worship angels either or anything likewise. In Revelation 22, 8 to 9, the apostle John fell down to worship at the feet of an angel. Now if you think that the apostle John tried that, you too should say, okay, I too, being a human, am susceptible to these types of things. And the angel said to him, don't do that. I'm a fellow servant to worship God. Okay. The credibility of angels is nothing in comparison to the credibility of Christ.

And then the same thing with Moses. Moses was the primary prophet in the Old Testament, but Christ now is the primary prophet, the perfect prophet. And so Hebrews 3, 3 says Christ has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses. And by way of application, we do not worship men. There were a lot of people who were greatly harmed by the fall of a great preacher named Steve Lawson. And perhaps they had him a little bit too high in their estimation. We need to be careful that we do not idolize men and be too awfully harmed by their failures. Men are men and men at best. And so we can't worship men. We need to do what we do because we are in Christ. And so as you serve and as you worship, you don't need accolades. You do what you do because Christ is sufficient for you.

In 2 Corinthians 5, 9, it says to make it your aim to be pleasing to Christ. And so you need to be pleasing to Christ in all that you do. You're not looking for a response. You're not looking for payment. Christ is your payment. He will take care of it. He's Lord. He's going to get all the glory for you being His ambassador. And so what we do, we do because of who we are in Christ. And so if you're the recipient of some type of love in Christ, give God the glory. Thank the person and be grateful, but give God the glory. And for those of us who serve with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, do that because of who you are in Christ. We don't look for the applause of men nor do we fear men.

Not only this, but you also see that the strategy in Hebrews is to esteem the priesthood of Christ forever above priests. Now this priesthood, my way of application represents religion, dry religion. And so many people love what they do because they've always done it. And this is very akin to tradition, which will be addressed here in just a moment. But the religious part of worship can become a dry routine if you just show up and do your duty and go home and feel like you've checked the box. And so do not let that supersede your relationship in Jesus.

Not only this, but what we also see in chapters 8 through 10 in Hebrews is that the tabernacle was temporary, but the true tabernacle is Jesus Christ in Hebrews 8.2. And so now we don't worship buildings. The tent, where's it at? In the Old Testament in the wilderness? God is disintegrated. Who knows? Where's the building, the temple in Jerusalem that was destroyed by the Romans? Right? Where is it? We don't make relics. We don't take all these things. We don't worship buildings, but it is such a temptation today, especially by the church growth push in our day to be given to building buildings, bigger budgets, and a bigger body of Christ, more people. That cannot become the goal because it will be at the expense of what the truth of the church really is. So we don't worship the tabernacle or buildings by way of application.

And as well, Israel was flawed. Israel flawed up the first commandment, but Christ, and He is the second Adam because He is faultless. And so it's really a look at the fact that the first covenant was followed traditionally. We need to obey these laws, tradition. Colossians chapter 2 and verse 8 says to beware of traditions of men. And I was listening to a sermon from Martin Lloyd Jones here recently, and he made it clear that one of the greatest deterrents of true religion, biblical worship and such, one of the greatest deterrents was that the people were given to what they've always done. They were stuck in their old ways and their old routines. And even though they saw the truth from the preachers there in England through the 40s, 50s, and 60s, and 70s, though they were shown the truth in the Bibles, their rebuttal was that, "Well, this is the way we've always done it." And they did not have a scriptural argument, but yet they were aloof from the truth.

And that is a real danger because as we grow older, we get into our routines and we get into our ways, we get stuck in our ways. And if those ways are not the best ways, no matter how old we are, we have to be constantly conforming to the ways of Christ. And so don't let tradition become your god. God must be your God. Colossians 3, 2, "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception according to the traditions of men."

So today, we're going to look at four promises within this New Covenant that are better than the Old Covenant. This is the strategy from the preacher of Hebrews to compare the Old Covenant's failures and faults to now the New Covenant blessings.

So if you're taking notes, number one is the promise is to both groups. The promise is to both groups. This is Better Covenant promise number one. Back to Hebrews chapter 8. I want you to notice with me in verse 10 this phrase, "The house of Israel." In verse 10, it says, "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel." This covenant is for the house of Israel. And we need to know who this extends to. So the Old Covenant was to the nation of Israel. But now the New Covenant is for all the nations. The Old Covenant was for the nation of Israel. Now the New Covenant is for all the nations.

All you need to do is look to the Great Commission to be able to verify this is that in Matthew chapter 28 verse 19 is to make disciples of what? The nation of Israel? No. It's to all the nations. Okay. And so now the New Covenant is not just for God's chosen people in the Old Testament, the nation of Israel. We can see this further substantiated through other truths as well such as in Matthew chapter 21. Turn to Matthew chapter 21. I want you to see this. And though it's not the main point of the text, you see the truth laced all the way through.

Matthew 21 12 links the temple and my house, the son of David and all these thoughts in a logical format that we can see that is not just for Israel. In Matthew chapter 21 and verse 12, Jesus is cleansing the temple. And he says in verse 12, "And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all of those who were buying and selling in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers and at the seats of those who were selling doves." Verse 13, "And he said to them, 'It is written, My house,' okay. This is the reason why we've come to this reference is because Jesus now is referencing My house which is the same as the house of Israel in Hebrews 8 10. 'My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you're making it a den of robbers.'"

You continue on to get the thought. In verse 14, "And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple and he healed them. But when the chief priest and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he had done and the children who were shouting in the temple, Hosanna to the son of David, they became indignant." Okay, so now you see this house that is being referenced in Hebrews is also referenced here by Jesus which is also connected to the house of David, okay, the son of David. Now this presupposes that this is the same house, the same children who are coming from the promise of Abraham which if you look at this one single line of salvation throughout the whole Bible it's fulfilled in Christ.

In verse 16, "And he said to him, 'Do you hear what these children are saying?' And Jesus said to them, 'Yes, you have not have you never read out of the mouth of infants and the nursing babies. You will have prepared praise for yourself.' And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany and spent the night there." And so now this house is continuing not only to Israel but through Israel to all of the people. Logically, back to Hebrews chapter 8 when it looks when you're when we're looking at this subject of the house of Israel, logically the new covenant would be going not just to Israel or the Hebrews whom the sermon is directed to but to all the nations because isn't Israel guilty of intermarriage like all the time? Even from the very beginning back in the Old Testament they were intermarrying when God told them not to do this.

And so logically thinking you would have not only a mixed congregation a church here a congregation here to the Hebrews but also families husbands and wives would have been marrying intermarrying from different nations. And so this new covenant logically extends through Israel to everyone. In Romans chapter 11 verse 11 it says this, "By there being Israel's transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles." And so it's through Israel to the Gentiles. Now also let's go back to the prophet's argument not just Jeremiah but let's look at Isaiah and see that this new covenant is not just for Israel but it's for all people.

Isaiah chapter 56 recognizes that Isaiah is speaking about the new covenant and he invites everyone especially the foreigners in Isaiah 56, 6 through 8 and he mentions, "My house will be for all peoples," which is the direct quote of Jesus from this passage in Isaiah. And so Isaiah chapter 56 and verse 6 this is speaking of the new covenant. In verse 6, "Also the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord to minister to him and to love the name of the Lord to be his servants everyone who keeps from profaning the Sabbath and holds my fast covenant even those I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar for my house will be called a house of prayer." There's the quote from Jesus and recorded in Matthew chapter 21 verse 13, "For all the peoples circle the word all there in the last line in Isaiah 56, 7.

Even from Old Testament times the intention was to extend salvation in Jesus Christ to all peoples through Israel and the new covenant is eternal because Jesus is eternal. Hebrews 13 8 says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forevermore." He always has been. This salvific plan always has been and so the new covenant promises being mentioned in the Old Testament are available because they're retrospectively applied. Believing in Christ forwardly then the promises would be applied. So all foreigners in God's house can gather. I will gather them. Verse 8 here before we go back to Hebrews Isaiah 56 8 says, "The Lord God who gathers the dispersed of Israel declares yet others I will gather." Circle the word others, yet others I will gather. This is clear because in the first part of verse 8 it says, "The Lord God gathers the dispersed of Israel." Okay so it's not only is it of Israel declares Lord yet others I will gather to them to those already gathered. This is a reference to Gentiles being grafted into God's plan. How wonderful it is that this new covenant promise extends to both groups.

Point number one is the promise is to both groups and if you like a New Testament reference for that, Ephesians 2 14 says both groups into one and so the Gentiles and Israel or the Jews when they are saved in Christ they are made into one. Jews and Gentiles both groups into one. Ephesians 2 14. John Gill says of this passage here in Hebrews 8 10 something very significant. He says that the new covenant that God promised to make with the chosen people the true Israelites under the gospel of dispensation. And so John Gill recognized that the true Israel would be both groups coming into one. Ephesians 1 4 says he chose us in him before the foundation of the world and so all of those who come to Christ have been chosen even before the foundation of the world was created and so no wonder all of this makes perfect sense.

Point number two the promise of inner guidance. In this covenant we have inner guidance. Back to Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 10 you'll see that God guides us for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days says the Lord I will put My laws into their minds. Okay guide our thoughts and I will write them on their hearts. He can guide us inwardly and I will be their God. God in you Christ in you the hope of glory Colossians 1 29 God guides you and they shall be My people. God does the part where he states I will and then in verse 11 they shall. There's the two part of the Shema even recognized here. And so the promise of inner guidance is nothing new. Okay I will be their God. This is a personal sovereign ruler on the inside of your heart and mind.

In Jewish terms the heart and mind was the place of where you had your inner being. Okay it's not separate really between the mind and the heart but it was just a reference to your inner indwelling. That's where God will dwell. That's what God will guide you. This is not a new truth. Exodus 6 7 says I will be your God. Leviticus 26 12 I will walk among you and be your God. Jeremiah 7 23 I will be your God and you will be My people and you will walk in all the way which I command you that it may be well with you. Ezekiel 37 26 I will be their God.

Turn with me if you would to 2 Corinthians 3 3 2 Corinthians 3 3 Now if God is guiding you inwardly people should be able to read you like a book and see Jesus. And that is a scriptural idea. If you are a new covenant believer if you've been saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and you have the Spirit of the Living God inside of you dwelling in you and guiding you. People should be able to read you like a letter read you like a book and see and perceive Jesus.

I want to prove this to you in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 3 being manifested that you are like a letter of Christ. Have you ever seen that before. You are like a letter of Christ. Seriously your life is like a letter of Christ. Circle those words letter of Christ care for by us written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. The Spirit of the Living God has written His laws on your mind and on your hearts says God through the author of Hebrews to the Hebrews through this new covenant and now you're like a letter. Now this is by way of conviction for me to be able to say if you are guided by God should not others be able to read you and be guided to God.

Your life must be on display for others to see Jesus and so what we do really matters. In 1st Samuel chapter 8 verses 5 to 9 they caved to other gods and this was very typical of Israel to cave. They cave to false gods. I'll say to us today by way of application false gods are real and they know how to aim at your emotions and they know how to aim at your desires. They are real. Satan uses false gods to allure you into selfism to allure you from selflessness into selfism. Oh what a false god for us to be aware of. Satan uses these allurements these false gods of power and money and role reversals to allure you away from the kingship of Christ. And then to being your own god. These are things to be aware of because Israel is an example for us to see that this doesn't work.

In fact God punishes these things like sending us into exile which is emblematic of separation from God for punishment being separated from His blessings. God withholding His wonderful blessings of peace, His wonderful blessings of prosperity from you because of sin. God knows how to get our attention and He does this intentionally because He loves and He cares for you and He wants to be your Father. He wants you to be close to Him. He wants to be your personal God. Not an aloof deistic God that perhaps has created the world and spun it into existence and now He doesn't care and He's unaware of things. He's doing His own thing now. That's not God. The true living God is one who dwells with inside of you and how awful it is to not walk closely with Him and to not yield your heart, your emotions and your mind and your thoughts to a biblical worldview and sift your whole life through scripture so that you are like a letter that can be read in every way, shape and form that distributes, that reads like Jesus was read.

People perceive Jesus like this in Luke 18 14. If you humble yourself you will be exalted but if you exalt yourself you will be humbled. People saw Jesus as a humble servant and they read him like a book and they knew that he claimed to be God. It was very clear where Jesus stood. He wasn't a chameleon. He didn't play two sides like the high priest had to play one side with Rome and then with Israel. He didn't have to give credence to Caesar. King Herod built Caesarea as a means to pacify Caesar and Rome to give him credit. He had to play into his power so to speak. Build a whole city called Caesarea on the sea which is east of Israel. They built a whole city and named it after Caesar. We don't do that. We honor God. We honor God. We truly can be read like a letter because God is our God and if God is your God then it's clear. It's easy. You're not given the false gods. You know that false gods are real. They really are fighting for your soul.

Better covenant promise number three. Number three the point is this the promise of full knowledge. Full knowledge. In Hebrews chapter one verse one it helps us to understand that God He had spoke long ago to the fathers and in the prophets in many portions and in many ways or various ways. Different, different ways. He spoke different, different ways various ways. They had a limited knowledge of who God was. But guess what. There's no more living in ignorance. In second Kings chapter twenty two it was characterized by ignorance. But now we have overcome that age. We are beyond all of that.

Acts 17 30 says this therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance God is now declaring to all men everywhere to repent. And so now we're beyond this Old Testament time of ignorance and ignorance has never been an excuse. But now it most certainly is not an excuse and we will all be held accountable at judgment for all that is written. In Ephesians chapter three verses 16 to 19 the prayer from Paul to the Ephesian church is that we would comprehend the knowledge and the fullness of God.

And now with the advent of the Internet as if it wasn't already accomplished the knowledge of God encompasses the whole globe. It always has been but more so now knowledge is everywhere in Isaiah chapter 11 and verse 9 the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Now this is fascinating in Isaiah 11 9 when speaks futuristically that the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. I would like to say to us by way of application that knowledge is useless unless it's converted to wisdom unless you take what you know and apply it to the Christian life. It amounts to nothing but knowledge is very powerful.

The proverbial wisdom is incredible. Those who have this knowledge. Oh we, we need them. We need them so that we can know especially knowing Jesus knowing God which is the primary pursuit of the apostle Paul according to Philippians 3 10. But the wisdom of Solomon and Proverbs 4 4 says this keep my commandments in verse 5 acquire wisdom and so acquiring wisdom is the wisest thing that you can do. Getting wisdom. How do you get wisdom. Well first of all you have to know. And so the knowledge is essential. You must study the Bible. You must know Christ. You must know His laws as precepts. You must be able to articulate what God has written in your heart and mind. You may have an inclination of what you know but you may not be able to write it or to teach it or to make disciples. So you need to study yourself approved. We need to articulate this knowledge and then be disciplined to convert it to wisdom which is living out knowledge. Knowledge is useless unless you apply it. So the wisdom here is then living out this promise. This promise of full knowledge of Christ is for you. But unless you truly walk in Christ and live in Christ it's useless. Knowledge of Christ is useless unless it leads to salvation and sanctification and glorification.

The last promise in this text is this. Number four. The promise of full forgiveness. Full forgiveness. In Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 12 I will forgive their wickedness and remember them no more. The promise of full forgiveness. This complete forgiveness is almost incomprehensible because it is like Adam and Eve in the garden before they sinned. This is how God views you. Do you struggle with the guilt of sin? Past sin that's already been forgiven? Just remember this. That God chooses to remember your past sins no more. He chooses to do that and He is able to do that. And now you are viewed in Christ as Adam and Eve were created innocently in the garden. That's how come now you can enter through the veil and into the Holy presence of God. It's because you're covered by the blood. You're covered by Christ. He is. You're covering. God views you in Christ through Christ. And that is tremendously freeing for those of us who struggle with the guilt of our indwelling sin. God knows you're not perfect.

No wonder the whole purpose of the book of Colossians is this phrase. Complete in Christ. Complete. You're made complete. So God embraces us while we are yet sinners not only for salvation but also through our sanctification. And you can think of it this way. How many of you had your children while they were in the diaper days have an explosion? And maybe they were just crying their eyes out and they needed you to pick them up while they were still nasty. I'm telling you only parents can pick up a nasty toddler who's had a diaper explosion. And God is much more capable of loving you in your filth than you are able to love your own when they filled their dirty diapers.

Even in our grossest times and in our filth, our Father is able to do these wonderful things. And so what that transfers over to us and how we live out our life having been completely forgiven of our sins past, present, and future, we then extend lovingly to our neighbors and to our others the complete forgiveness of sins past, present, and future. Truly forgive as you have been forgiven Colossians 3.13. Let me just give you some implications if you harbor sins or if you add up faults against other people. If you are a fault finder, if you are looking for faults in others and you utilize their faults as justification to live your own life. If you are viewing Christianity through the lens of unforgiveness and bitterness. Here's what's going to happen. You're going to make yourself distant from God.

When you fault find you add up things against others, you're doing yourself heart harm. You're pulling yourself away. You're actually grieving the Holy Spirit when Ephesians says not to do that. Ephesians 4.30 says, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit." That is detrimental to your walk with the Lord if you do that. Not only that, it causes tension in relationships. And so if you fault find relationships, you're causing separation rather than closeness. The other person feels that. They see your eyes. They see your eyes. The wheels turning in your mind. They hear it through the words. Fault finding is detrimental or I should say harming to the closeness in relationship because it causes tension. And then another thing that it does, it makes others feel that they must be perfect in order to earn your love.

This is an Old Testament legalistic way of trying to follow the Old Covenant. See how this applies to our life when it comes to being free in Christ. It was freedom that Christ sets you free, Galatians 5.1 says. And if you free others to be able to love Jesus and to love you and to do the best that they can without being fault-finded, you're there with them to utilize knowledge and wisdom to guide them in Christ and they feel and they know that you are for them, not against them. What a difference. I learned that a long time ago that in conversation we must portray this to people. We're with you. We're for you. We're for you in Christ. We're with you. I'm your aid, helper. I'm going to come alongside you like a paraclete, like the Holy Spirit does. I'm going to be all that I can to help. But I'm not going to sit back full of my arms and say, "I told you so." I'm not going to fault-find. I'm not going to expose the fault that you already know. This is living not only with complete forgiveness from God, but it's also living as ones who completely forgive others.

I'll give you a personal example. In a conversation here recently, I've really truly crystallized the idea of loving your neighbor in that you would not fault-find anything in their life. On one side, we have ones who perhaps come from a different country and have a lot of stuff in their front yard. Would I, as one who lives in a neighborhood, prefer the front yard to be clean? Yes. In such would I prefer to be able to understand the music that they play? Yes. There's a preference, but you know what? Selflessness in Christianity views it this way from a biblical worldview to love your neighbor as yourself. Now, I praise God that He has brought someone from another nation beside me to love. I don't look at the stuff. I look at the soul. I'm telling you, this is meaningful when you see life through a new covenant to all the nations. You're not fault-finding. You're not judgmental. And stupid things don't matter. Silly, temporary things don't matter, but souls are eternal. Every soul matters.

And so now I don't see those things. All I see is people. Luke 19.10 says, "Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost." And if you get the heart of Jeremiah in communicating these new covenant promises to a sea of lostness, you will weep, weep for souls around you too and do your best to communicate Christ despite who you are, despite who they are. To love them no matter what. To live as one who has been completely forgiven and to love others completely.

Take home truth number one. I have two for you. Is this agonize over the lost? Agonize, agonize over the lost. Jeremiah's secret to 41 years of faithfulness in preaching and in ministry was the fact that he was a weeping prophet. He agonized over the sins of the people. He agonized over this. He agonized over... Get this, you got to get the heart behind the agony. This is where it's at. He agonized over what they were missing out on. He agonized over the fact that they didn't have peace in Christ. They didn't have communion with God. They didn't have assurance of salvation. They didn't have a hope of a future. He agonized over this. He says, "My own people," which you could say, "My own neighbors, they're missing out on Christ. They're missing out on the better promises. They're missing out on all of these wonderful things that are forth in. This is for all people. This new covenant is extended to anyone who would repent and believe. So why would we not tell everybody about it? I mean, I'm ready to tell people about the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Aren't you? Have it at the forefront of my mind. I have it on my heart. I've got the tracks in my pockets. And you do too. I see you. I hear you going out to witness on purpose. Evangelism, not only as you go, but also intentionally. Worship in church, not only every day as you go through life worshiping, but also intentionally, corporately together. This is truly agonizing over the laws to be able to express to them the hope that you have in Jesus, the better promises that they're missing out on, and the fact that they can have true peace and communion in Christ. We have these treasures. We have these invaluable blessings. We have things that are worth more than money.

And to help people to see that money is a false God and that our true Master needs to be the Lord Jesus Christ is simply just to be an obedient, great commission Christian who has a heart for the lost, who is agonizing over these things. The prophet Jeremiah is not to be a one-off guy. He is to be an example. Did not Jesus weep? He wept over the sins of Israel and is now the author of Hebrews not weeping over the separation. And now by way of application, are you agonizing over lost people and their lostness?

Take home truth number two. Final one is this. Have a continual attitude of gratitude. This is something that we need to do intentionally to correct our stinking thinking no matter what we're enduring, what problems we're facing, most of what we face, our new world, our first world issues. Oh, internet, oh, TV, oh, yeah. All these first world problems. We really cry and agonize over these. We need to utilize these strains that we go through in life. Maybe you can't pay your bills. Some things are more strained. I get it. Utilize the strains in life as a prompter to pray and praise Jesus. Utilize problems as a prompter to pray and praise Jesus. We really, truly need to develop the spiritual skill set of having an attitude of gratitude no matter what.

And contextually, out of this new covenant, we should have an attitude of gratitude because we can always, always, always thank God for complete forgiveness every single day all day. Right? And you think of the fact that you've been completely forgiven and you don't have to face judgment and pay for all the sins that you have done. Praise God, that'll keep you in an attitude of gratitude throughout the day. An attitude of gratitude also from these covenant promises, these better covenant promises, is knowing Christ personally. And then as well, being guided by Christ and the fact that everyone who will come can come even from Old Testament times. The prophet Isaiah in chapter 55 says, "Oh, everyone who thirsts come to the waters." Jesus directly quoted that. Anyone who thirsts, come. These are better new covenant promises over and beyond the old covenant promises, which is the strategy of the preacher of Hebrews to reach people. He's showing them the better promises, which we've looked at today, over and beyond this Old Testament lifestyle. Now we're in Christ. Now we have this hope, this blessed hope. Now we have these better promises, a better Savior, better forgiveness. It's not temporary. It's eternal. Intimate knowledge with Christ. It's not through a sacrificial system. It's being guided inwardly. It's not through outward obedience. And it's everyone who would come.

Lord, if there's anyone here who's never been saved, would You by Your Holy Spirit, draw that soul under conviction? So that they may feel the guilt and the shame of their sin and then confess their sin. And say, "God, I've sinned against You and You alone." May they confess their sin. May Jesus give them the ability to repent of their sin and turn from their wicked ways and to turn to You and be saved. Dear God, I pray that You would draw all men unto You who would be saved. And that they would not only be saved, but they would be baptized. Not only baptized, but learn how to study their Bible and then go and make disciples. God, we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.