The Huge Transformation That Is Possible With The New Covenant — Sandeep Poonen

Jeremiah's Promise of a New Covenant

I wanted to show us Jeremiah chapter 31. This is the expression of the new covenant and I want us to recognize what the new covenant was compared to the old covenant. Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31 through 34.

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, this is the new covenant. Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day that 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 Declares the Lord, but this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel those days declares the Lord. I will put my law within them and on their heart.

I will write it and I will be their God and they will be my people. They will not teach again each of his neighbors and each man his brother saying know the Lord. For they will all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them declares the Lord for I Will forgive their iniquity and their sins.

I will remember no more again here that expression comes at the very end of that new covenant that Jesus is Delivered in this verse. It tells me the reason why we have a new covenant. What was wrong with the old covenant.

Did God make a mistake? No, it tells me in verse 32 There was nothing wrong with the covenant. God kept up his side of the bargain. But here's what he says here the end of verse 32. It's the covenant which they broke.

That's the problem with the old covenant. It was a one-sided covenant. God kept his part of the bargain. He said I was a husband to them. The verse 32 we broke it. That's the old covenant so What is the new covenant?

Keeping Both Sides of the New Covenant

The new covenant very simply is a covenant that both sides keep. Who kept the old covenant God did who didn't keep the old covenant the people of Israel did? Okay, here's the new covenant. The new covenant is a new covenant where God keeps the side of the bargain like he did before and We keep our side of the bargain too.

We keep the covenant too. That is the difference. God was the husband. He says that I was a husband to them in verse 32, but they broke the covenant. So I'm gonna tear up the old covenant. I'm gonna Create a new covenant, but here's going to be the difference.

The people will not break the covenant. Now if we look at our lives, we may say we're breaking the covenant all the time. Then we're not in the new covenant because this should be the mark of the new covenant.

This should be the authority of the new covenant. Why did God break up the old covenant for a few reasons? But in Jeremiah 31 he says this is the new covenant. But the old covenant is not good enough because you're breaking it.

We call ourselves new covenant Christian fellowship. What that means is we're gonna keep the covenant. We're gonna shake hands with God and say God we're gonna do the deal that you made with us. We're gonna keep it.

I Don't know if we have seen that that's the standard God's asking us to do you have to keep the covenant and you have the whole 3 ,000 2 ,000 years of Moses. Telling all the Israelites of the law and they kept breaking it.

Keeping it for a few years and then breaking it keeping it for a few years and breaking it. What is the new covenant? But we don't break the covenant. So the standard is a covenant that we keep God's keeping his side.

We have to keep it if we start with that then we have to say Lord. How is this possible? Then the next question comes is Lord, how is that even possible? You know me we know you we all know each of us.

Knowing God Through Forgiveness

How do we keep that covenant? That's what Jeremiah 31 31 through 34 says. I'm gonna create a new covenant and he talks a bunch of things and It starts with if you see that in verse 33 34 They will not teach one another.

Because in verse 33 34, they will all know me. That's why that's why the covenant is gonna be different. Because they will all know me and why will they all know me at the end of that verses is because I will forgive Their sins.

So the starting point the first step in this keeping the covenant that we have to do on our sides is to recognize What Jesus did in his blood? The blood of Jesus is so powerful. I don't think any of us Come close to understanding his its power and The preciousness Peter.

The Precious Blood of Jesus

Peter uses a word to describe the blood of Jesus he calls it the precious blood of Jesus and We're all fall short of treating the blood of Jesus as precious. I want to tell you a story from this morning.

We have two dogs. One and one who's potty-trained one who's not we had we separated the dogs this morning last night. They slept. Well the dog got out the dog one of the dogs the younger one Has been pooping in his crate.

Well, we put him in a different one and He pooped on on the floor. Okay, but there were three four spots. Three spots of poop and one spot of blood so There's something in the wrong in his diet. That's why there's a little bit of blood too but I'll tell you something Laura and I had to clean it up this morning as Difficult as it was to clean up the extra excrement of his dog.

It was different to try to deal with the blood not because it was difficult but there was a little bit of Sadness When there's blood there when you're looking at blood and as much as the smell of the excrement is much worse it was more difficult for me to touch the blood to clean up the blood and I noticed something from there from that.

Yeah, and interestingly enough the dog was very considerate. He had four little spots Neatly separated out and the blood all by itself. But as we were trying to clean up as I was trying to clean up the blood and I noticed I had left.

There was a lot more Difficulty for me to look at that blood. There's something sobering about it. The Bible says that there's life in the blood. There's a we get life. It's not from the oxygen we be but from the blood that we have and so I think it is in the animals too.

That's why we had to sacrifice the blood of animals. What I'm trying to say is there's a soberness about blood. Excrement, you're not losing anything. It's expelled from the body but blood is precious and We talk a lot about glory in the cross.

Dear brothers and sisters. Have you ever seen a cross with blood on it? We've seen a picture of a cross blood on you hang pictures you show pictures on the wall. Do you ever seen pictures of blood on the cross?

No, we don't want that. We want to sanitize the cross. You know, what is in heaven? We see a slain lamb. What a slain mean I Get the picture that there's blood on it on that lamb. There's blood the precious blood of Jesus is what allows our iniquities to be cleansed.

The blood of Jesus has so much power it's worth meditating on the blood of Jesus Releases us redeems us from the penalty of our sin not from not from the devil. The devil doesn't have us. It's the wrath of God That's gonna send us to hell not the devil.

It's God's anger against sin. That's gonna send us to hell and the blood of Jesus releases us redeems us from the wrath of God and Gives us peace with God. The blood of Jesus brought all of us non-jews into the Covenant.

So it expanded the Covenant. The blood of Jesus Justifies us and calls us righteous. That's much more than forgiving us of our sins. The blood of Jesus says I look at you as if you've always obeyed. That's a completely different standard than cleansing us of the blood of cleansing us of all our sins.

Access to God Through Christ's Blood

I Look at you and say you nailed it every single time you obeyed every single time. That's what the blood of Jesus gives us. Romans 3 24 and 25. The blood of Jesus gives us entrance into the most holy praise place.

Hebrews 10. Intimacy and fellowship with Jesus where we can walk in where the high priest could only go there once a year. It's the blood of Jesus that gets us in Intimacy with Jesus. It's all the blood not the cross.

It's the blood. We have a lot of songs that sing about the cross but not enough songs that we should be cherishing about the blood of Jesus that gives us entrance into the Most holy place and It's the blood of Jesus that makes us fitted into the body of Christ where we can be the bride of Christ.

It's the blood. I'm talking about specific scriptures in the Bible that connect the blood of Jesus. With this access we have. So as I said, there's a soberness in which the blood has to be appreciated to say Oh, I will forgive your sins and I will remember them no more.

Well slow down. That came with a massive price. As we see blood in our children as we see blood even in an animal it should sober us. So this is where the life comes from and was the blood of Jesus that was Drenched all the way through till there were no more drops left that was shed for us.

You have not Resisted sin to the point of shedding blood. You've not taken sin that seriously once you see that blood was shed for your sin, then It'll be much more sobering for us. And I Thank God for that little visual.

I got this morning and the visual of that blood being so difficult to look at. When compared to one of the most ugly things we'd ever want to look at and face. Was it showed me how precious I must treat the blood of Jesus.

Compared to all the most difficult situations in my life that may feel like Being dragged through the gutter. That should be nothing compared to the blood that was spilled. That is the Basis on which We encountered in covenant.

The Law Written on the Heart

That's the very first step and Then he says the blood of Jesus because of that will change the way I do things. I Will write my laws into your heart and I'll write my laws into your mind so that you'll know me With that intimacy and that's what will make a difference to where you'll be able to keep the covenant.

And so the reason I'm saying that is not because I'm trying to any of us to feel bad. But for all of us to know what our true heritage is. Not that our children will be good and kind and know the theology of the new covenant, but that they will be gripped by the sacrifice of the blood of Jesus all of us will be so that we can respond to the blood of Jesus and say Lord what I'm expecting out of the new covenant is laws written on my heart and laws written on my mind and Knowing you In a way that David and Samuel and Daniel could never know you.

I want to know you and where's the proof of it? I don't break the covenant. That's the proof David didn't break the covenant for a while and then he broke the covenant. But that we increasingly don't break the covenant.

Growing Up Into Christ

I was blessed by a verse that was shared a lot of these thoughts actually were Confirmed and built up in me from our Thursday midweek group that we had and one of the verses that were shared there was in Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians chapter 4 verse 15 and 16 that was shared in there. We may know these verses. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 15 and 16. It's tied right in with we don't break the covenant. If we call ourselves new covenant Christian Church.

We it's one of the most exalted titles to give to any church new covenant, you know. We are the Church of the blood of Jesus Christ. I've never heard of such a church, but it's almost like we're basically saying the same thing because Jesus said This is the new covenant in my blood.

So when I when we call ourselves new covenant Christian Fellowship, what we're saying is we're the Church of the blood of Jesus Christ. You can't get higher than that. We can't get anywhere without the blood of Jesus Christ.

That's the new covenant Ephesians 4 and so that's the standard towards which we should be saying but speaking the truth Ephesians 4 Verse 14 and 15. Ephesians 4 14 and 15 as a result. We are no longer to be children here.

What is this breaking the covenant tossed around here and there by waves of this or that by trickery and deception deception? We should no longer be children, but speaking the truth in love. We are to grow up.

That's a beautiful word that gave me a lot of hope. Because a two-year-old doesn't become a three-year-old in one day. A two-year-old has 365 days and there's gonna be many hours when you're gonna see your children today before they go just one day older and That's the beautiful word for us to think about we grow up in all respects in all aspects of him.

I like it the head is so our goal is to be like Jesus where we never never ever break the covenant. But the way we get there is growing up. Not like children who are tossed around but little by little little by little day by day as we watch our children and then as every parent who's gone before us tells Us time flies before we know it our children are 18 and going to college well in the same way before we know it will be in our 50s in our 60s and 20 30 years of being a Christian going where God says.

Where did all those 20 30 years of being a Christian go it goes by quickly, but right now You see your children in front of us. We have our day before us let us no longer be like children tossed around but Growing up in all aspects just like children grow up and become adults.

Let us grow up to become more and more steadfast immovable. Abounding in the work of the Lord because we know. There is no sting in death because we know the grave has no power over us. One Corinthians 15 says that because we know that because we rejoice in that even when we see people dying.

We don't grieve as those who are of this world grief. Why. Because we know that there's no sting in death. Well, so what do we do then now here or not? Let us be immovable. Steadfast not breaking the covenant abounding in the work of the Lord that's what we ought to do not being like little children and.

Transformation Through Beholding Christ

That transformation dear brothers and sisters, that's the word I wanted to leave with you transformation. That word is used twice in the New Testament to talk about the transformation that needs to happen in our lives.

Metamorphosis some of you may have studied that in science metamorphosis. Change into a new form that's what metamorphosis is and the picture that we and the animal that we think about when we think of metamorphosis is.

Children, you know what animal we think about. Butterflies, that's the final stage right? But what changes what does it change from? Sammy what does it change from? A Caterpillar see that's what everybody thinks.

Everybody thinks the caterpillar becomes a butterfly, but I'm here to tell you I'm giving you a science lesson to Caterpillars don't become butterflies. Did you know that? I'm just a little bit of a trick caterpillars become something else caterpillars become something called a pupa and A pupa becomes a butterfly.

Okay, and a caterpillar eats and eats and eats and eats. That's a picture of us who love to eat God's Word all of us not everybody in the world. But all of us we love to hear God's Word. We love to listen to sermons.

We become fat. We become strong and we're not fat not strong become fat full of eating. That's what a caterpillar is supposed to do supposed to eat and eat and eat. We listen to lots of messages. We have Bible study apps.

We got YouTube messages that are constantly eating eating eating. Well, that's caterpillar stage. There's an in-between stage before comes a butterfly and that's called a pupa stage. But God has to just restrict you no more eating now.

It's transforming time the caterpillar becomes a pupa and the pupa becomes a butterfly. There are two parts that I wanted to show you that Transformation, there's two verses that talk about that 2nd Corinthians 318 talks about God transforming us.

2nd Corinthians chapter 3 verse 18. He uses that word metamorphosis in the Greek that's that word metamorphosis 2nd Corinthians 318 and he says that we As we behold the Lord dear brothers and sisters.

Just think about this what he's saying here as we look at Jesus were transformed. Can you think about that? Has that ever happened to you as you just looked at Jesus and you got transformed? Well, that's what he's saying here.

We with unveiled face Looking as in a mirror the gold the glory of the world beholding as in the mirror the glory of the Lord are transformed. I'm metamorphosis went from pupa to To butterfly that's interesting caterpillar to pupa to butterfly how by just beholding.

And I thought about that word pupa and I thought how do I make it easy for me to remember and I thought of what we don't have the word pupa. We don't really use that word. I thought of the word pupil.

You know and people has two meanings. There's the pupil of your eye and that's an expression to say the most treasured thing and God is saying I want you to be. I want you to be like that. I want me to be like the pupil of your eye.

I Look at you as the pupil of my eye. I want you To look at me and make you the pupil of my eye. What does that mean? I want you very simple. Where your pupil is what you see that Jesus is what I see.

That's what he's saying here. And Jesus becomes like the people what's in the pupil of my eye when you think of the word pupil. When you think about a butterfly think of the word pupa. When you think of the word pupil, I think of what pupil.

The pupil of your eye and say Lord Jesus, I want you to be like the pupil of my eye center focused. Beholding as in a mirror. Beholding as in the pupil of my eye the glory of Jesus very simple. Jesus must be my hero.

Renewing the Mind as Christ's Disciples

Jesus must become my hero if Jesus is my hero. I become transformed. Very simple if Jesus is my hero. I become transformed. That's the problem dear brothers and sisters. Jesus is not our hero. We don't look at Jesus and say his his financial state.

Good enough for me. His comfort level sleeping out in the forest or whatever. It is good enough for me. His life as an inconspicuous carpenter good enough for me. His life being rejected by most of most of religious religion of that day good enough for me.

And if we walk by the life of Jesus we are attracted to the miracles, but a lot of his daily life is not very attractive. Despised of men good enough for me Lord Jesus. You're my hero. I Want Jesus to be the pupil of my eye so every part of the life of Jesus is what I appreciate and adore.

The other meaning of the word pupil is student and That's what it means. That's what the other use of that verse in Romans chapter 12 verse 2 Be transformed to be metamorphosis by the transforming or by the renewing of your mind.

You have to be a student. Say Lord and Jesus has to teach me. That's what he does. He teaches us on Sundays. He teaches us in the midweek group. And he says I want to teach you how to do it. And we have to be a student that acts it out Monday through Saturday, I'm gonna be a pupil.

Under the disciples eyes. Under the teachers icing. I want to see how you do this problem. I gave you the template on Sunday morning. I taught you on Tuesday and Thursday and Friday. I gave you fellowship with somebody now.

It's pupil time be a student and Execute on it live it out. That's what's happening Monday through Saturday. That's what it means. We have to be a student under the discipler. Then we get and you know Philippians 4 8 is a verse that you can remember as it relates to how we be a pupil.

Student, whatever is good. Whatever is noble. Whatever is excellent. Whatever whatever is of good repute think about those things meditate on those things renew your mind to those things. So a critical thought that comes in a judgmental attitude that comes in an unloving attitude an unforgiving attitude that comes in be a pupil.

Stop feeding on God's Word like the caterpillar does be restricted now. Make Jesus my hero and say pupil time now time for me to be a student by the renewing of my mind. Putting all that I've stirred studied into practice.

I Become more and more like Jesus the metamorphosis happens. Dear brothers and sisters. We have to do our part. It's not just beholding. It's the renewing of our mind to I thank God that God used those two words in two places.

One where he's doing our part. We mostly by just we beholding and then we have to renew our mind. We have to do the work just like the miracles of Jesus. We pour the water. He turns it into wine. We give the five lows into the two fish.

He multiplies it and. So on and so forth we roll over the storm. Jesus Lazarus comes forth. We have to do our part. We have to renew our mind in the metamorphosis. We cannot become butterflies on our own, but we have to do our part.

Faithless People Becoming Faithful

One final verse from Jeremiah chapter 31. I Want to inspire you. I want to encourage you with this verse like it encouraged me. Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 22 six times in the book of Jeremiah Jesus. Jeremiah says faithless people faithless without faith and There's a word of hope.

In Jeremiah 31 verse 22, how long will you go here and there. Oh faithless daughter. Jeremiah 31 verse 22. How long will you go there here and there. How long will you keep breaking the covenant. Oh Faithless daughter as I said six times.

Jeremiah uses this word and I think this may be the last time he uses it. But now faithless is going to become faithful. Breakers of the covenant are going to become keepers of the covenant. Faithless are going to become faithful.

How are we going to do this? How long will you go here and there. Oh faithless daughter for the Lord has created a new thing on the earth. Behold, I will do something new. What's the new thing. A Woman will encompass a man.

The Bride Pursuing the Bridegroom

What does that mean? Here's what it means to me. A woman will surround a man. Here's what it means. We talk long and hard about Jesus pursuing us. We talk long and hard about the father running out to meet us.

Like the prodigal son running out to meet us. Well, here's the new covenant. We don't we don't break the covenant and the woman the bride pursues and surrounds the bridegroom. It's a two-way street. It's not just us glorying in the bridegroom pursuing the bride Jesus standing at the door of knocking and we're helpless pathetic beings.

That's not that's all covenant of no covenant. The new covenant is a bride that is pursuing and surrounding the bridegroom. What a tremendous hope people who'll keep the covenant and The Bride of Christ is not a human is not a person.

It's a people. It's a church. It's a group of people who are committed to saying we're gonna surround the bridegroom. We're gonna encompass the bridegroom. We're gonna commit together not one not two where two or three are gathered maybe more.

Where we were devoted to Jesus and we're encompassing the bridegroom. That's the hope here brothers and sisters. Let's not fall short of the new covenant. Well, we think it's about the blood of Jesus and the Holy Spirit and all those things.

We have a tremendous part to play the new covenant. The old covenant was torn up because we broke it. The people of Israel God said I'm tearing it up. I'm gonna give a new covenant where you'll keep it because of the blood of Jesus being our source of all our energy that can Tear down any prison wall the blood of Jesus that gives us access into the most holy place and so on an intimate fellowship With him based on that Jesus says now Go from faithless to faithful.

That's the promise I have for you. I want to make you a bride that's pursuing me too. It's a two-way street. That's dear brothers sisters. I'm so encouraged. I'm excited about the calling of the new covenant.

That's expanding in my eye to see my responsibility to see the impossible calling but saying God. This is the life worth living. I want the testament of my life to be That I was one of the people who was the bride of Christ that was surrounding the bridegroom, too.

I wasn't constantly waiting for the call of Jesus knocking on my heart. I was running after him. May God help us.