1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:04,000 Anybody here like professional wrestling? 2 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:06,920 Anybody. Anybody. 3 00:00:07,040 --> 00:00:09,080 I used to love it. I haven't really watched it for 4 00:00:09,080 --> 00:00:10,920 years. When I was in junior high and 5 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:14,120 high school, I loved it. Hulk Hogan, you know, Hacksaw 6 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:19,680 Jim Duggan, Randy the Macho Man, Savage, the the Andre the Giant, 7 00:00:19,680 --> 00:00:22,520 That crowd, the old days. It's simple, right? 8 00:00:23,080 --> 00:00:26,200 Professional wrestling. Not easy to do by any stretch of 9 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:28,960 the imagination. A friend of mine was a a pro 10 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:32,200 wrestler, never reached the big time, but it's it's not easy to 11 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:37,480 do, but it's simple that just be the last man standing and you 12 00:00:37,480 --> 00:00:40,880 win, whether that's one-on-one, whether it's tag team, whether 13 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:44,840 it's cage match, just the goal is to be the last man standing. 14 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:49,720 It's not how things worked for Abram and Sarai, and we're going 15 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:52,960 to talk about that today. But before that, my friend 16 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:58,280 Squeak is is facing a dilemma and he texted me about it and I 17 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:03,120 was hoping the kids might be able to help Squeak sort out his 18 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:05,120 dilemma. So if if the kids would like to 19 00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:08,200 come up and sit in the front for this, you want to knock on 20 00:01:08,200 --> 00:01:11,440 Squeak's door because we need someone to knock on Squeak's 21 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:13,200 door. Come on up, come on up, and you 22 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:19,080 can knock on Squeak's door here and wait till everyone gets up 23 00:01:19,080 --> 00:01:21,200 here though. Oh, you have some furry little 24 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,160 animals as well, so OK, go go ahead. 25 00:01:28,880 --> 00:01:31,200 Hey, yeah, hello. How are you guys this morning? 26 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:32,520 How are? You. 27 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:36,320 Guys, you doing all right? You got friends there? 28 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:41,000 Is that octopus real? Because I think octopus is elite 29 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:46,640 mice and the turtle will too. Lobsters. 30 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,000 I don't know. I eat lobster so. 31 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:52,240 Maybe watch out so. All right, Squeak, I know you 32 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:53,600 didn't come here to talk about them. 33 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:57,440 Squeak has a problem. Yes I do and did. 34 00:01:57,480 --> 00:01:58,600 Did you get my? Text. 35 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:00,240 Yep, I got your text. So. 36 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,400 So could you tell the kids in general what the problem is 37 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:09,120 before we get to your text? Yeah, so I I starting at a new 38 00:02:09,120 --> 00:02:12,840 school next week and I don't know anybody and I'm trying to 39 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:17,120 figure out the best way to make friends and I'm scared about it 40 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:20,520 and that's sure what to do. And so I suggested that Squeak 41 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:25,600 text me some of his ideas for good ways to make friends, and 42 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:28,760 then we could talk about it. So I got Squeak's text. 43 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:36,680 OK, first thing, Squeak says. I've saved a lot of money, and I 44 00:02:36,680 --> 00:02:42,960 have enough money to pay one kid $20 a week to be my friend, or 4 45 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:47,840 kids $5 a week to be my friend. Really. 46 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:49,160 Squeaky. Yeah, I have. 47 00:02:49,160 --> 00:02:50,480 I've been working hard all summer. 48 00:02:50,640 --> 00:02:51,920 What do you think? Is that a good plan? 49 00:02:51,920 --> 00:02:56,800 No. Well, you got to save up for 50 00:02:56,800 --> 00:02:58,200 your Xboxes and stuff. Well, but I want to have a 51 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:00,120 friend. I want to have a friend because 52 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:02,360 you can play Xbox with me. Is. 53 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:03,720 Is that? What's that? 54 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:07,320 Be nice, but it'd be kind. What if you run out of 55 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:08,840 batteries? Be nice batteries. 56 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:14,360 With your controller. Be nice and be kind and don't 57 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:16,720 steal. Those are good plans. 58 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:22,480 Other other ideas. So no, right now I we're not 59 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:24,560 going to worry about the Xbox. We're going to worry about the 60 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,360 friends right now. So let me let me that's that's 61 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:29,520 AI think that I think Aiden might be on to some. 62 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:34,800 Let's check squeaks. Second thing, you said that you 63 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:41,480 would agree to do homework for any kid that would do your be 64 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:44,280 your friend, is that right? Yeah, I'm pretty good at school, 65 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:48,480 work, and I figure if I do their homework for them, they'll be my 66 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:49,920 friend. What do you think about that 67 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:51,400 one? No got. 68 00:03:53,200 --> 00:03:55,720 To get to know people get get, get to know people, that's 69 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:59,120 that's kind of hard. How do I get to know people? 70 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:01,720 Well, I. Made a friend on the very first 71 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:06,600 place he he did have another thing on he did have another 72 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:09,720 thing squeak that that might might help you get to know 73 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:10,600 people. Maybe. 74 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:17,480 I guess you said you would clean the room and mow the lawn of 75 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:21,279 anyone who would be your friend so they wouldn't have to do it. 76 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:24,360 Is that your? Yeah, I like mowing lawns and I 77 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:26,840 don't like cleaning, but I figure if I go to someone's 78 00:04:26,840 --> 00:04:29,520 house and clean their room and mow their lawn, I'll get to know 79 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:31,760 them a little bit and then you'll be my friend. 80 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:35,360 What do you think? Yeah. 81 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:38,160 No, No. What do you think? 82 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:41,400 No. All right. 83 00:04:41,400 --> 00:04:43,520 We need some more ideas for Squeak here. 84 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,360 Be nice, be kind. Don't steal. 85 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:49,320 Get to know people. How do you get How can Squeak 86 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:52,320 get to know people? Show them your pets. 87 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:55,920 Do you have do you have pets? Toys you can bring and and show 88 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:58,240 them. Well, yeah, I I got some of 89 00:04:58,240 --> 00:04:59,600 that. I could do some of that. 90 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:01,040 What? What else could he do to make 91 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:05,640 some friends? Be nice, be gentle? 92 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:11,360 OK, play with someone the first time they ask. 93 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:12,960 That's a really good. Idea. 94 00:05:15,440 --> 00:05:25,240 What's that? I think that's a great idea, 95 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:27,560 Squeak. Look out for someone and see if 96 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:29,600 they're alone and then you could be their friend. 97 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:33,000 I think, I think I can do that. It's kind of scary though, 98 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,320 talking to a new person when you don't know him. 99 00:05:41,100 --> 00:05:44,140 Pray to pray to God. Did you think about God and all 100 00:05:44,140 --> 00:05:45,860 this? Yeah, I did think about God. 101 00:05:45,860 --> 00:05:48,500 I was going to give him some money to be my friend too. 102 00:05:49,260 --> 00:05:51,780 No, I don't think that's what Aiden meant. 103 00:05:52,060 --> 00:05:53,700 That's not what you meant, was it, Aiden? 104 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:56,920 No, no. What did you mean? 105 00:05:57,960 --> 00:05:59,960 Just pray. Talk to God. 106 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:01,920 Just pray. You don't have to pay God to 107 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:04,400 talk to him. He he will be your friend even 108 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:07,120 if you don't pay him. Oh, that's good, because I don't 109 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:10,520 think I had money to pay God and the kids to be my friend. 110 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:14,120 So, all right, Well, Squeak, I think you've got some good ideas 111 00:06:14,280 --> 00:06:16,120 for how to make some friends. Do you think so? 112 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:19,640 I'll try it. It's going to be scary, so maybe 113 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:21,600 you guys can pray for me too, OK? 114 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:24,880 All right, OK, awesome. Well, let's we all pray 115 00:06:24,880 --> 00:06:27,920 together. Dear God, thank you for today. 116 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:32,600 Thank you for squeaking the kids being here today and help us all 117 00:06:32,840 --> 00:06:36,000 to look out for people who are alone and try to be their 118 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:38,920 friends in Jesus name, Amen. Amen. 119 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:41,080 All right, you guys can head back. 120 00:06:41,640 --> 00:06:43,880 You can head back. Well done. 121 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:49,040 Papa told you you could, huh? All right, we had that issue in 122 00:06:49,040 --> 00:06:52,040 my house too. Or so Amy says. 123 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:10,080 Covenants and friendship are not exactly the same, but there's a 124 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:14,480 lot of overlap because both involve relationship, both 125 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:19,480 involve connection, and there's a cost to both. 126 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:24,680 There was a cost to the covenant that Abram and God made. 127 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:29,280 There was a cost to the covenant that God made with Moses and 128 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:31,240 Abraham's descendants on Mount Sinai. 129 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:34,840 There's a cost to the covenant that God made with all of 130 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:38,920 humanity when Jesus came and lived and died and rose again. 131 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,920 A covenant is an agreement. Friendship involves agreement. 132 00:07:43,920 --> 00:07:46,640 You might not covenants, you're usually explicit about it. 133 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:48,720 This is why we're in this relationship. 134 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:50,440 This is what I'm going to do for you. 135 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:52,040 This is what you need to do for me. 136 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:55,400 Friendships usually aren't quite like that, but it's still a 137 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:59,880 relationship. And, and, and, and covenants 138 00:07:59,880 --> 00:08:02,640 sound like a contract, but they're not. 139 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:06,440 And that's where they're kind of covenant is kind of somewhere 140 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:12,000 between friendship and contract because in a contract, when one 141 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:15,840 party breaks the terms of the contract, the other party is 142 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:19,960 free to break it as well. If we said, hey, we're going to 143 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:24,680 we're going to pay John $500 a week to get up here and do what 144 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:28,360 he's doing on Sunday mornings. And John said, that's great. 145 00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:31,640 And then John just decided to spend the next month, you know, 146 00:08:31,640 --> 00:08:34,480 traveling. We would say, well, John, you 147 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:35,880 didn't live up to your end of the bargain. 148 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:39,280 We're not paying you for that. And John would say, OK, 149 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:44,760 probably, yeah. So if you break, if one party 150 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:47,080 breaks the contract, the other party doesn't have to keep it 151 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:50,880 covenant. Much more like friendship in a 152 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:54,520 covenant. When someone side of the 153 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:58,720 covenant violates the covenant, the other side of the covenant 154 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:02,520 is still honor bound and obligated to keep the covenant. 155 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:06,720 Covenants are serious business. When you get into covenant, 156 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:10,040 you're getting into a relationship that that and 157 00:09:10,040 --> 00:09:13,320 you're obligated to do certain things in that relationship. 158 00:09:13,600 --> 00:09:18,640 So again, much like a friendship, but there's a cost, 159 00:09:19,400 --> 00:09:21,720 there's always a cost. We're not going to talk about 160 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:23,200 there's a lot of different covenants in the Bible. 161 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:25,000 We're only going to talk about two today and we're going to 162 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:28,040 compare and contrast them. One is the covenant that God 163 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:31,240 made with Abraham and Sarah, and the other is the new covenant, 164 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:34,280 the covenant that God made with all humanity in and through 165 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:37,000 Jesus Christ. So we're going to jump in and 166 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:40,280 talk about that. This is a bit of APG 13 sermon 167 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:43,400 as well in which that if if someone doesn't know what the 168 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:47,960 word circumcision means, they might ask awkward questions 169 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:51,680 after we're done. I would advise not Googling 170 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:57,440 circumcision, just saying the cost of the covenant with Abram 171 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:04,360 was circumcision circumcision and there's a lot of aspects to 172 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:06,560 that kind of cost. First of all, it was a bodily 173 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:09,280 cost. This wasn't something you could 174 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:13,680 buy your way out of if now, if you're Abraham or one of his 175 00:10:13,680 --> 00:10:16,560 male descendants, there's no gift you can make, there's no 176 00:10:16,560 --> 00:10:21,200 active service that you can do. There's nothing you can do to 177 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:25,600 substitute for circumcision to buy your way out of it. 178 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:29,520 The cost is a bodily cost and it's a bloody cost. 179 00:10:30,560 --> 00:10:34,120 There's no way to participate in circumcision without blood. 180 00:10:34,120 --> 00:10:37,240 It's a bodily cost, it's a bloody cost, and it's a 181 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:42,080 permanent and ongoing cost. Once you pay that cost, that 182 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:44,960 cost is paid. You don't have to keep paying it 183 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:51,280 and you can't undo it. It is a reality for you for the 184 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:56,920 rest of your life. And it's a new identity. 185 00:10:58,120 --> 00:11:00,080 There is a new identity going on here. 186 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:04,720 And, and we see that very literally in Abraham and Sarah, 187 00:11:04,880 --> 00:11:10,560 who went from being Abram and Sarah to Abraham and Sarah at 188 00:11:10,560 --> 00:11:16,520 this very moment when this covenant is is solemnized by God 189 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:20,400 and Abraham with this act of circumcision. 190 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:22,760 God had made these promises before. 191 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:25,760 Now it's formal. Now it's official. 192 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:28,120 Now the covenant has been signed, if you'll pardon the 193 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:30,480 expression. Now there's skin in the game. 194 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:36,000 Thank you. That there is. 195 00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:42,160 It is made official in this act, and at this time God gives 196 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:46,840 Abraham, Abram, and Sarai new names and new identities. 197 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:51,920 Abram meant honored father. Abraham means father of nations. 198 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:55,800 His identity is expanded. It's great to be an honored 199 00:11:55,800 --> 00:12:00,840 father, but in a social scale it's a very small thing. 200 00:12:01,360 --> 00:12:05,400 The Father of Nations is a very large and broad thing with an 201 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:10,000 extended impact over many people and many generations and many 202 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:14,680 times and places. Sarai meant my Princess. 203 00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:20,720 Sarah means Princess. Before Abram could say this is 204 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:25,200 Sarai, this is my Princess. But now the possessive is gone. 205 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:29,000 Now Sarai isn't just I'm his Princess. 206 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:35,840 Sarah is a Princess, and from from her will come Princess and 207 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:40,320 princesses and kings, Queens, rulers. 208 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:45,080 She will be the mother of rulers, as Abraham is the father 209 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:49,680 of nations. Her identity is expanded, her 210 00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:54,240 impact, her place in the world is expanded as part of this 211 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:58,560 covenant of circumcision. Finally, well, almost finally, 212 00:12:59,080 --> 00:13:03,160 this cost could only be paid by men. 213 00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:08,240 There was an exclusivity to this covenant, to the covenant that 214 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:11,080 God made with Abraham. Abraham paid it. 215 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:13,160 Ishmael paid it. Isaac paid it. 216 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:17,000 Later, every male person in Abraham's household paid it. 217 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:21,600 And so have people, Abraham's descendants for generations, for 218 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:27,040 millennia, Jewish people still practicing circumcision as part 219 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:30,720 of their covenant with God. But only the men can pay it, 220 00:13:30,920 --> 00:13:35,320 which means in a very real sense, only the men can fully 221 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:40,280 participate within the covenant. Only they have full 222 00:13:40,280 --> 00:13:45,040 participation. The final thing then is that 223 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:48,560 with circumcision, with this, with the covenant, with the in 224 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:51,720 God's covenant with Abraham, the cost of the covenant, 225 00:13:51,800 --> 00:13:54,800 circumcision was also the sign of the covenant. 226 00:13:55,400 --> 00:13:57,320 Circumcision was the sign of the covenant. 227 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:02,320 It was a bodily, permanent indication that this person 228 00:14:02,440 --> 00:14:07,880 belongs to God and those in their household belong to God. 229 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:11,520 The sign and the cost were the same. 230 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:16,480 Now let's take a look at the New covenant, the covenant that God 231 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:20,280 offers to all humanity in and through Jesus Christ. 232 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:22,280 We're going to compare and contrast. 233 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:25,960 The cost of the New covenant was and is death. 234 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:32,240 Specifically the death of Jesus, God himself in the flesh, God's 235 00:14:32,240 --> 00:14:39,480 own Son in the flesh. This was also a bodily cost. 236 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:43,960 There was no gift that Jesus can make, no active service that he 237 00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:48,800 could perform, no no work that he could do that would allow him 238 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:53,880 to sidestep this cost. For this new covenant to be, he 239 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:59,720 had to offer his life as sacrifice in death, and he did. 240 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:04,240 It was a bodily cost, and it was a bloody cost, far more bloody 241 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:08,920 than circumcision. His body poured blood when he 242 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:13,320 was beaten with the whip and lashed however many times. 243 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:15,760 When they put the crown of thorns on his head and beat it 244 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:20,160 into his head with sticks, when they nailed him to a cross, when 245 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:23,240 they stabbed him in the side with the spear, Jesus's blood 246 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:26,040 flowed. It was a bloody cost that Jesus 247 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:31,560 paid for this covenant, and it was a permanent and ongoing 248 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:36,600 cost. Jesus, in his resurrected body, 249 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:40,320 still bears the scars of his crucifixion. 250 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:47,160 His body is marked permanently and forever with the cost that 251 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:51,680 he has paid. And this is kind of a that part 252 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:54,160 is clearly explicitly stated in the Bible. 253 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:57,920 This is kind of a sciency thing that's not really explicitly 254 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:00,080 stated in the Bible, but I think makes sense. 255 00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:04,920 And I think is is a powerful thing in and of itself that 256 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:09,440 Jesus as God is not bound by space and time. 257 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,920 He is eternal and that doesn't just mean living forever. 258 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:16,320 That means that he isn't bound by space and time. 259 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:19,200 We do see that after the resurrection where at one point 260 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:22,680 in the Gospel of Luke he's in in the city of Emmaus, and then the 261 00:16:22,680 --> 00:16:25,840 next moment he's in the city of Jerusalem without intervening, 262 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:29,280 time passing. And he's not just in the city of 263 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:33,280 Jerusalem, he's inside a locked room without any doors and 264 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:36,960 windows being opened. Jesus is not bound by time and 265 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:43,120 space, which means, as Jesus is eternal, that in a very real 266 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:48,600 sense, Jesus always has been, always will be, and always is 267 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:53,480 being crucified. That is a present reality for 268 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:58,480 him as someone who was not bound by time and space, A permanent 269 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:04,440 and ongoing cost that Jesus pays so that we might enjoy the 270 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:07,800 benefits of the new covenant. And we'll see what those are in 271 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:11,000 just a moment. For Jesus, this wasn't a new 272 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:14,079 identity. Jesus as God always has been and 273 00:17:14,079 --> 00:17:17,240 always will be, but it was a confirmed identity. 274 00:17:17,560 --> 00:17:21,760 It was in Jesus's dying on the cross that the Pagan Roman 275 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:26,560 centurion, the soldier who may have known nothing about Jesus 276 00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:29,400 other than this, is one of the guys you have to crucify today. 277 00:17:30,040 --> 00:17:33,480 When he saw Jesus die on the cross, when the sky went dark, 278 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:36,040 when the earth shook, when the curtain of the temple was torn 279 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:40,000 from top to bottom in Jesus's death, the centurion looked at 280 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:43,560 Jesus and said, surely this man is the Son of God. 281 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:50,640 Notice this the way the Pharisees, his enemies, taunted 282 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:52,560 him. Prove to us you're the Son of 283 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:54,560 God by getting down from the cross. 284 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:57,800 That's not what proved Jesus was the Son of God to that 285 00:17:57,800 --> 00:17:59,840 centurion. It wasn't getting down from the 286 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:02,360 cross. Devil's temptation to Jesus was 287 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:04,880 use your power to destroy your enemies. 288 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:09,360 That isn't what Jesus did that confirmed he was the Son of God. 289 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:15,920 It was not being the last man standing that confirmed he was 290 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:18,320 the son of God. It was the manner in which he 291 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:24,160 died with grace and love and mercy and forgiveness on his 292 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:27,920 lips in his death, even for the very people who were crucifying 293 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:32,680 him. And the centurion said, surely 294 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:36,320 this man is the Son of God for his disciples. 295 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:41,600 It was the resurrection that led him them to say, surely this man 296 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:44,960 is the Son of God, a confirmed identity. 297 00:18:46,120 --> 00:18:49,960 This price could only be paid by Jesus, no one else. 298 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:54,800 No one else could do this but Jesus to make a way for this new 299 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:57,000 covenant. And what is the covenant? 300 00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:00,520 The covenant is this God promises. 301 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,280 I will be your God and you will be my people. 302 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:11,240 And I will undo the curse, the poison of eating the tree of the 303 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:13,160 fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 304 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:17,640 I will undo all of that and instead give you the fruit of 305 00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:23,640 the tree of life to eat, and you will have life forever with me 306 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:26,160 and my Kingdom. You will be my people. 307 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:29,800 I will be your God forever and ever and ever in a Kingdom and 308 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:33,840 which love and mercy and compassion rather than power, 309 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:37,840 wealth and exploitation are the rules and the ethics by which 310 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:42,800 everyone lives. This is the promise. 311 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:51,440 This is the covenant, and the cost of that covenant was and is 312 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:55,800 Jesus's death. The sign, one of the signs of 313 00:19:55,800 --> 00:20:02,840 that covenant is the cross sign that we keep always before us in 314 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:06,760 our worship and and ever present in our minds and in our hearts 315 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:12,560 as we are following Him. The sign of this covenant is the 316 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:17,560 cross now. All of that is absolutely true, 317 00:20:18,520 --> 00:20:22,040 and there is nothing we can do or have done to earn what Jesus 318 00:20:22,040 --> 00:20:26,640 did for us at the same time. And equally true is in this new 319 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,080 covenant. Just as there was a cost for 320 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:33,120 Abraham and every male descendant of his, the new 321 00:20:33,120 --> 00:20:38,040 covenant, there is a cost to us, and it's similar to Jesus's 322 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:41,400 cost, except it's not our death, it's our life. 323 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:50,160 It's our life, our living. CS Lewis put it this way, said a 324 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:53,680 lot of people come to Jesus and it's like they're hiring a 325 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:57,160 contractor to remodel their house and they say to the 326 00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:59,600 contractor, look, this room needs cleaned out, that room 327 00:20:59,600 --> 00:21:02,560 needs cleaned out, this room needs remodeled, that room needs 328 00:21:02,560 --> 00:21:05,000 cleaned out and remodeled. But everything else is good. 329 00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:08,560 We're just leaving with that. And God comes in and says, Nope, 330 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:12,520 I want the whole thing down. We're starting over. 331 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:20,480 There is a cost to following Jesus, and that cost is a bodily 332 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:23,600 cost. How and what we do with our 333 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:27,280 bodies. Because in this covenant, we're 334 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:31,800 we belong to Jesus. We're his younger siblings. 335 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:34,760 God is our Father. That means we are under their 336 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:37,360 protection and we are under their authority. 337 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:40,960 And when they say go, we go. When they say stay, we stay. 338 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:42,400 When they say be still, we're still. 339 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:44,160 When they say get busy, we get busy. 340 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:48,640 When they say talk, we talk. When they say shut up, which is 341 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:52,480 the one I hear pretty regularly, Blevins, stop talking. 342 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:58,640 Just stop. We need to stop talking. 343 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:01,640 This is the cost of the covenant. 344 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:06,360 It's a bodily cost. What we do with our bodies now 345 00:22:06,360 --> 00:22:09,560 was not a matter of our decision, but God's. 346 00:22:10,240 --> 00:22:13,920 And it's a bloody cost. Not for everyone, a literal 347 00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:17,400 bloody cost. But I believe every faithful 348 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:21,920 follower of Jesus and every time and every age will bear scars 349 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:25,600 into eternity of their following of Jesus. 350 00:22:26,360 --> 00:22:31,160 The scars that they received as they loved, as they served, as 351 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:35,400 they obeyed in Jesus name, some of those scars will be on our 352 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:37,840 bodies. Amy Carmichael is a is a 353 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:41,280 missionary that I admire. I reference a lot. 354 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:46,200 She was an Irish missionary to India and and she did her work 355 00:22:46,200 --> 00:22:51,280 at great sacrifice. She she fully embedded herself 356 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:52,720 in the culture in which she lived. 357 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:57,280 She wanted to live as much of an indigenous life as was possible, 358 00:22:58,280 --> 00:23:04,320 and her work was rescuing girls from sexual exploitation and she 359 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:08,000 rescued many and gave them education and gave them homes 360 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:10,960 and gave them positions where they could live free and 361 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:15,720 fulfilling lives rather than being used as sex slaves. 362 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:22,520 And she measured, she said. Describe faithfulness like this, 363 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:25,960 she said. Can anyone claim to have 364 00:23:25,960 --> 00:23:28,640 followed Jesus if they have no scars? 365 00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:34,920 If she said how? If you have no scars on your 366 00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:37,880 hands or feet, how can you have followed far? 367 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:41,960 And they're not always visible scars. 368 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:43,520 They're not always physical stars. 369 00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:46,840 Sometimes there's scars on our hearts, sometimes on our mind, 370 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:52,000 sometimes on our emotions, sometimes on our bodies of 371 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:56,760 following Jesus, of loving like Jesus did, of serving like Jesus 372 00:23:56,760 --> 00:24:00,920 did, of taking up our cross like Jesus took up his. 373 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:05,240 The cost to us was and is a bloody cost, and it's a 374 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:08,440 permanent and ongoing cost. You don't get to retire from 375 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:11,720 following Jesus. People can leave, you can quit, 376 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:16,960 but there's no retirement. Amy's so looking forward to 377 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:20,160 retiring. So looking forward to retiring. 378 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:27,400 You can retire from Nestle, but but as long as you're a follower 379 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:30,440 of Jesus, you're a follower of Jesus. 380 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:33,640 And there's no retire, even death. 381 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:36,400 I really don't. I do not believe heaven in the 382 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:40,240 Kingdom of God and life after death is an eternal vacation 383 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:43,200 where we're all just playing golf or knitting or doing 384 00:24:43,200 --> 00:24:47,840 whatever we enjoy doing that there will be work to do for the 385 00:24:47,840 --> 00:24:53,680 Kingdom and the Kingdom then as now, it's a permanent and 386 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:57,720 ongoing cost. And for us it is a new identity. 387 00:24:58,120 --> 00:25:01,640 All those names that people have put on you, all the things 388 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:04,760 you've been called, all the labels that have been smacked 389 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:08,600 upon you or or have been, you know, wormed their way into your 390 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:11,320 mind or your heart, all of those go away. 391 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:14,400 And Jesus said, no one gets to define you but me. 392 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:17,200 I made you. I designed you. 393 00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:20,440 I know who you are and what your true purpose is. 394 00:25:20,720 --> 00:25:25,880 I will give you your identity. And none of those names that 395 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:27,440 folks have called you get to stick. 396 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:33,240 We have a new identity in Jesus. And the thing about this cost is 397 00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:38,640 it can only be paid by you. Someone said, I don't know who 398 00:25:38,640 --> 00:25:39,840 it was. I think it's good. 399 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:43,680 I repeat it. God doesn't have grandkids. 400 00:25:46,320 --> 00:25:50,040 No one is a follower of Jesus. No one's a participant in this 401 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:54,000 new covenant just because their parents were Parents can be a 402 00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:58,200 great influence, but everyone has to choose for themselves. 403 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:01,840 Everyone has to decide for themselves whether they will 404 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:05,600 participate in this new covenant or not, whether they're willing 405 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:11,680 to pay this cost to have the whole house down, to live with 406 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:14,960 this costly kind of grace. It can only be paid by you. 407 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:17,960 I can't pay it. I can't pay it for my kids. 408 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:20,360 I can't pay it for my wife. I can't pay it for my parents. 409 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:24,320 None of them can pay it for me. We all have to decide. 410 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:28,680 And here's the thing. The other sign of this new 411 00:26:28,680 --> 00:26:32,720 covenant is baptism. The cross and baptism are the 412 00:26:32,720 --> 00:26:37,440 signs of this new covenant. And anybody can go in the waters 413 00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:40,120 of baptism. Anybody can take up their cross 414 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:42,080 and follow Jesus. Doesn't matter whether you're 415 00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:45,200 male or female, doesn't matter whether you're black or white, 416 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:48,280 whatever your race is, whatever your national origins are, 417 00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:50,840 whatever your language is, whatever your orientation is, 418 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:53,480 whatever your identity is. What are all of these things? 419 00:26:53,480 --> 00:26:55,960 Whether you're rich, whether you're poor, whether you're 420 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:58,760 talented, whether you're, you're, you're smart, whether 421 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:02,000 you're, you know, academically gifted, all of these things or 422 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:07,200 not, anyone can go into the waters of baptism. 423 00:27:09,080 --> 00:27:11,880 And if you're being immersed, you're being, you're reenacting 424 00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:14,680 the death and resurrection of Jesus as you go down into the 425 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:17,800 water like he went into the grave and come back up like he 426 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:20,600 rose to new life. Or whether you're sprinkled and 427 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:24,640 poured. It's like the the, the, the, the 428 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:28,240 Israelites putting the blood on their doorposts And when the 429 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:31,960 Angel of death passed over and he saw that sign, that mark, 430 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:35,280 that blood for us, that water and says this one belongs to 431 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:39,360 God. Death won't touch this one. 432 00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:46,360 This one belongs to God. Whether it's simply that 433 00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:51,120 beautiful imagery of being washed clean inside and out and 434 00:27:51,120 --> 00:27:56,960 made whole the new anyone can participate in this covenant if 435 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:02,040 they're willing to pay the cost. And the cost is our lives. 436 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:08,720 It's not a it's not cheap grace. It's not saying a prayer like 437 00:28:08,720 --> 00:28:11,360 it's an incantation and then getting a get out of hell free 438 00:28:11,360 --> 00:28:13,360 card and going about our business as usual. 439 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:19,960 It is our lives belonging to Jesus and following him 440 00:28:19,960 --> 00:28:24,440 faithfully wherever he lives leads the cost of the covenant 441 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:27,640 Abraham. Abraham was not intent on being 442 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:31,200 the last man standing. That is not the posture of this 443 00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:34,400 covenant or participation in the Kingdom of God. 444 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:39,400 What Abram did when God showed up was Abram fell on his face. 445 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:43,000 He humbled himself and said I belong to you. 446 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:48,480 And God said that's good. I'll be your God, you be my 447 00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:51,760 people. In Jesus name we can do the 448 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:53,080 same. Amen. 449 00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:53,800 Amen.