Yes & Amen - Part 2 (Covenant Promises Fulfilled in Christ)

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts. Morse Corner is a non-denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message. We all know this, people make mistakes at times, people will let you down, but God never does that.

If God let you down, the problem is with you, not with God, okay? God will never let us down. He keeps his promises. Look at 2 Corinthians 1 verse 19. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, by me, Silvanus, that's just another word for Silas, and Timothy, was not yes and no, but in him was yes.

And this is the verse. For all the promises of God in him are yes, and in him, amen, to the glory of God through us. So what does this mean? It means that God, God is faithful. God will always do what he says he's going to do.

God keeps his promises. And in time past, in the Old Testament scriptures, a lot of promises were made, right? God said a lot of things. He made a lot of promises. And every one of those promises is fulfilled in Christ.

So let's look at an example of this. Turn to Genesis chapter 11, or excuse me, Genesis chapter 12. Genesis 12, and as you're turning there, just think of this word promise. What comes to mind, particularly in the Old Testament when you hear the word promise?

Well, you may think of the child of promise, that God made a promise. He made a covenant with Abraham that even though he was old and his wife was barren and well beyond childbearing age, God promised a son to Abraham.

And this concept of promise is brought into the New Testament and it's tied in with salvation itself. Don't miss this. That a person is saved by faith. What does that mean? By believing the promises of God.

In the Old Testament, they knew nothing about the name of Jesus or even him dying on a cross and rising the third day. They didn't know about that. They didn't have those details. So how are they saved?

By believing the promises of God. And Christ is the fulfillment of the promises of God. So in Christ, we find the culmination of the promises. So there was the son of promise. What's the other big one that everyone knows?

The promise what? The promised land. All right. Well, let's look at Genesis 12, starting in verse 1. Now the Lord had said to Abraham, get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you.

And I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great. And you shall be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

So you answer these questions, okay? Did these things come to pass? Did the Lord make Abraham a great nation? What's the answer to that? Was his name made great? Was Abraham a blessing? Did God bless him and curse his enemies?

Has all the earth been blessed by Abraham? Remember, Jesus is the seed of Abraham. Yes. All right. So the final question, did Abraham possess the land? No. All right. Well, now let's go to Hebrews chapter 11.

He did dwell in the land, but he did not possess the land. So Abraham did not possess the land. He dwelt in the land as a pilgrim. Okay. Technically, the only part of the promised land Abraham ever owned was the cave at Mechpelah.

That was his own burial plot where he buried his wife, Sarah. That was the only part of the promised land he ever owned. So does that mean the promises of God failed? Well, you know the answer to that.

Well, let's look at Hebrews 11. It starts out in verse 1. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Was Abraham a man of faith? Yes. Look at verse 8. Hebrews chapter 11, verse 8.

By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith, he dwelt in the promised land, as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.

For he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Now skip to verse 13. The author of Hebrews recognizes this. What does he say? All these died in faith, not having received the promises.

But having seen them afar off, were assured of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.

And truly, if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

So how is the promise of the land fulfilled in Christ? Well, that's a good question. I'm glad you asked that. Well, number one, through the salvation that Jesus purchased, Abraham, he got a better country.

He got a heavenly country. Right now, his spirit is dwelling with the Lord in that heavenly country. But not only that, when Jesus returns, what's going to happen? The dead will be raised. And Abraham and his godly descendants will rule and reign upon the earth, dwelling in the land.

So in Christ, Abraham is doubly blessed. Not only does he get the earthly country, which he will inherit, he gets the heavenly country. Why? Because all the promises of God in Christ are yes, and in him, amen.

And what does the word amen mean? So be it. It's true. You know, when Jesus said, truly, truly, I say to you, some versions say, amen, amen. I say to you, verily, verily, it's true. Or when someone says something, you say, amen, you're saying, I agree.

That is, that is true. And just in case you're wondering where you fit in, we're going to talk about Abraham and David. You say, okay, these promises were made to them. God promised to Abraham and to his seed.

The seed singular is Jesus. The seed plural, you think, well, that's the Jews. Where do we fit in to all of this? Well, if you remember the scripture reading from this morning, what did it say? That if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.

This is your inheritance as well. If you have faith in Christ. So not only does the Lord keep his promises when he delivers, he delivers above and beyond what people expect. 1 Corinthians 2 verse 9 says, I have not seen nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love him.

However, you think of the promises of God and you think of how great they are. You know what? They're even better than you can possibly imagine. Now let's look at another example of the promises being fulfilled in Christ.

Turn to 2 Samuel chapter 7. 2 Samuel chapter 7. And we will look at the covenant that God made with David. So we've looked at the Abrahamic covenant. Now we'll look at the Davidic covenant. Where God makes a promise to King David.

And if you didn't already know, you may have figured out by now that the term covenant and promise are really synonyms. So a covenant is a promise or a binding agreement. So we could say this, that all the covenants of God are fulfilled in Christ.

Now look at 2 Samuel chapter 7, starting in verse 1. The scripture says, The covenant is where the Lord dwelled. He's off in this little tent. David didn't feel right about that. Verse 3, Then Nathan said to the king, Go and do all that is in your heart for the Lord is with you.

And you remember that David was the second king in Israel, right? Who is the first king? Saul. And Saul ended poorly, didn't he? Yes, he did. He not only ended poorly throughout, he had some good moments, but Saul willfully at times disobeyed God.

David, however, was what? A man after God's own heart. What does that mean? David wanted what God wanted. David wanted to see the Lord glorified. Who did Saul want to see glorified? Yes. Saul wanted to see Saul glorified.

So now David wants to build a house for God. He wants to build a temple. And we know that ultimately it was the Lord's will for his son Solomon to build the temple. But look what happens. And I love this.

This is an amazing thing. Nathan, the prophet is speaking for God. He says in verse 11, The Lord tells you that he will make you a house. So this starts out with David wanting to build a house for God.

And God says, no, David, I'm going to build you a house. A dynasty. An everlasting kingdom where David's throne would be established. And one of his descendants would sit upon the throne forever. Look at verse 12.

When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you who will come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. And he shall build a house for my name. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

And I will be his father and he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But my mercy shall not depart from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

Now there's something you've got to pay attention to here. In one sense, the Lord is speaking about Solomon. And we know that because he says what if he commits iniquity. So in a sense, the Lord is speaking about establishing Solomon's throne.

However, remember the title of the message. All the promises of God are fulfilled in who? In Christ. Verse 16. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.

So if that is true, and we believe the promises of God are true. If that is true, if the throne is established forever, and a descendant of David is on the throne right now, who would it be? It would be Christ.

Luke chapter 1 verse 31. The angel Gabriel says to Mary, And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus. And he will be great and he will be called the son of the highest.

And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom, there will be no end. Why? Because all the promises of God in him are yes and amen.

Thanks for listening. I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Moores Corner Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website, moorescornerchurch .com.

We'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett. Until next time, may the grace of God be with you.