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This podcast is a production of Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas, USA. Watermark exists to be and make more fully devoted followers of Christ, looking to God's Word as our only authority, conscience and guide.
Good morning, Watermark. How are we doing today? Hey, I'm so glad you made it. I know we have a packed Chapel right now with people in overflow. We have people in the Town Center. If that's you, if you are out there somewhere, welcome. I'm glad you made it. Thank you for fighting through traffic to be here.
If this is your first time ever at Watermark on a Sunday, let me just say I hope this place can feel like home for you very quickly. You belong here. We hope this can be a place where you can take either your first or your next step with Jesus Christ. Every Sunday, before we open up the Word of God, we start by praying together.
So, I want to give you a chance right now to pray for yourself. Really quickly, just say, "God, would you speak to me this morning?" Then, would you pray for the people around you, family, friends, and other people? Just say, "God, would you speak to them as well?" Then, I want to ask if you would pray for me. People call me _TA_. Would you just say, "God, would you speak through TA to us?"
Holy Spirit, you're welcome here. I pray that you would lead and guide us into all truth. I pray that you would glorify Christ in our hearts and minds today as we study your Word. In Jesus' name, amen.
The theme of today is _new_, because it feels like there's a lot of newness in the air. By show of hands, did anyone have kids who started a new school year this past week? Yeah, a lot of you. Who has kids who are starting a new school year this coming week? Okay, great. Now, I know many young adults have probably just moved to Dallas and started a new job. Is that any young adults in the room? Okay, great.
I know summer is a time when people get married, so some of you might have just started a new marriage. Is that anyone in the room? Okay. Congratulations. How's it going? Let's get a mic on… No, just kidding. There's a lot of newness in the room. Is anyone here just starting new rhythms in your life? Okay, great.
The fact that we're right there, that next weekend is the beginning of a new college football season… Is anyone excited about that? Yes. And who here bought a new washer and dryer because their washing machine started leaking all over the floor the night before school started? Oh, just me. Okay. Cool. That's great.
Hey, it's a season of newness. The reason I tell you that is because, today, we're talking about one of the most glorious truths in the entire Bible, which is known as the _new covenant_. The new covenant is very fitting if we're talking about newness. I'm going to tell you that the new covenant is going to be the best newness of your week. Here's why.
At least in our experience, with our kids starting a new school year, the start of a new school year is expensive because there are just things you have to buy. One of my kids needed new shoes. Another needed a new backpack. There were new clothes that needed to be bought. There were new school supplies we had to buy. The good news is the new covenant isn't something you have to buy; it is something that has been bought for you by the blood of Jesus Christ, which is the best kind of gift.
If you have a Bible, I want to invite you to turn with me to the new covenant, which is found in Jeremiah, chapter 31. If you're new with us, what you need to know is during 2025, we have been journeying, as a church, through the entire Bible from cover to cover, including on Sundays. We are at a point in reading through the Bible where we have been reading through the books known as the _Major Prophets_.
Let me show you a chart of the books of the Bible so you know how the different books are grouped. If you look right over _here_ under "Major Prophets," you find Jeremiah. That's where we've been. We're going to start Ezekiel tomorrow, so if you want to jump in with us, you totally should. We honestly just have a few days over a month before we're done with the entire Old Testament. What is left are Ezekiel, Daniel, and then the 12 Minor Prophets.
These are the least accessed books in your Bible by Christians. The reason they're the least accessed is because sometimes they're hard to understand, because many are written in poetic form, but they're also kind of depressing to read. That's why people kind of steer clear. You read them, and you're just like, "Page after page."
But the prophets are really important. A prophet is a messenger from God. _Major_ and _minor_ doesn't mean more important and less important. They're labeled _major_ and _minor_ basically due to their length. A prophet is a messenger from God, and the real point of the prophets is to call the nations of Israel and Judah to repentance because of their sin, and because they don't repent, prophets declare the judgment that's coming.
Yet, even then, even with God's judgment, we find what God's remedy is for Israel's sin, and there's a promise of restoration to Israel. What I need you to understand about the Prophets is that the Prophets ultimately still signal that God's plan, all the way from the garden of Eden, is still intact. God is still bent on sending a Serpent crusher. He is still bent on restoring what was lost from the garden of Eden. He will reverse the effects of the fall.
One of the greatest reasons to read the Prophets is because the Prophets give the clearest answer to _the_ question the Bible is seeking to answer. We established this all the way back in January. The Bible, from cover to cover, is ultimately seeking to answer one question. Do you know what that question is? If you want to understand the Bible really quickly, here it is. The Bible is seeking to answer this question: _How can sinful human beings be acceptable to and together with a holy God forever?_
That's a question every single one of us should ask ourselves. "How can I, a sinful human being, be acceptable to and together with a holy God for forever, for all of eternity?" The clearest answer to the question the Bible is seeking to answer is actually found in Jeremiah 31:31-34, which is known as the _new covenant_.
Do you guys remember during COVID…? I'm sorry I brought that up. I know, for many of you, your experience at church just took a massive turn in the wrong direction. But do you remember in the middle of COVID, John Krasinski… (This is the second week in a row I've mentioned him. There's no infatuation there; it's just coincidence.)
John Krasinski started putting out videos during COVID called _Some Good News_. He started putting out these videos that were just videos of good news, just things that were happening that were good news in the midst of a season that was pretty miserable. Jeremiah 31 is some good news for the nation of Israel and, ultimately, for us.
The nation of Israel is in a season of devastation, and God is writing through Jeremiah. Jeremiah, chapters 30-33, are known as the _Book of Comfort_. It's like, "Here's some good news. In the midst of a spiritual epidemic in the midst of the nation of Israel, here is some good news." And, ultimately, it is good news for _us_. So, let's read it together. This is what's known as the _new covenant_. Jeremiah 31:31-34:
**"Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord.**
**For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."**
So, this is the new covenant. You need to know what the new covenant is. If you're a follower of Jesus Christ and someone were to ask, "Hey, what's the best news about Christianity?" you just need to say, "It's the new covenant. Let me unpack it for you." If someone were to ask, "How do I get right with God?" you automatically go to the new covenant.
The new covenant today is contrasted with the old covenant. The text just told us what old covenant Jeremiah is talking about. It's the covenant God made with Israel at Mount Sinai. It's the Mosaic covenant. So, think Ten Commandments. Think 613 laws. Think old sacrificial system. That's what is being contrasted.
When you hear _new_ covenant, think _better_ covenant. The thing that makes the new covenant better than the old covenant is because the new covenant gives a sufficient answer to the question the Bible is seeking to answer: How can we, sinful human beings, be acceptable to and together with a holy God forever? Jeremiah just told us the old covenant couldn't do it. The old covenant couldn't answer that question.
Jeremiah just painted the nation of Israel like a spouse to God. God says, "Even though I was their husband, they broke it." He paints a picture that Israel and Judah have kind of been like a spouse to God who consistently goes out and cheats on God and then comes home and says, "I don't know what the big deal is. We're good. Right?" God is like, "No, no, no. It's not working. You're consistently breaking my covenant. You're consistently running to other gods. You're consistently cheating on me, and you don't even care. How can we be together forever if _this_ is the relationship we have?"
So, God says, "Look. I'm going to do something new. I'm just going to do something new." Do you know what he does that's new? Two things, and there's more. We'll unpack more next week. For today, the new covenant gives us a _new_ _heart_ and a _new_ _start_. I know that's kind of cliché, but I want you to say that out loud. Just say, "New heart, new start."
The reason I want you to say that is that my hope this week is, all throughout the week, you find yourself asking yourself, "Am I living out my new heart and my new start?" That's what the new covenant gives. The only way for sinful human beings to be together with and acceptable to a holy God is if you have a new heart and a new start that are given to you by God. So, let me unpack them for you. Let me show this to you. This is the new covenant. This is some good news for us.
1\. _A new heart_. Look at what it says. Verse 33: **"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people."** I hope you see what's happening. God through Jeremiah is saying, "This is how it's going to happen. This is how it's going to work for me to be Israel's God and for Israel to be my people forever. This is how it's going to work. It's because I'm going to write my law on their hearts."
That's different. That's a massive shift, because where was the law written for the Mosaic covenant? It was written on stone tablets that were then placed in the ark of the covenant, which signified the presence of God. This is really important. The law written on tablets was _with_ the people, but the law wasn't _in_ the people. That's a major difference. It's one thing for the law to be _with_ you; it's another thing for the law to be _in_ you.
The reason there's a difference is because the reality is that external laws have never been able to produce wholehearted obedience. By show of hands, who here went above the speed limit on the way to church this morning? Okay. For those of you lying, let me ask the people who rode with you. Who rode here with someone who went over the speed limit? Yeah, thank you. Thanks for that honesty.
Who here looked at their phone while driving at some point this week? Yeah. Yeah, you did. Why did you do it? Because that's what you wanted to do, and what you want will always trump what is right. Knowing the law doesn't equal desiring to keep it. In the end, what you want is going to trump what is right.
That's what you find. When you read the entire Old Testament, the nation of Israel is just reminding us you do what you want; you don't do what is right, and what you want tends not to be what God says is right. That's called _sin_. There's a reason the word _heart_ is mentioned 49 different times in the book of Jeremiah. Why? Because, ultimately, the reason we don't obey God is because of a heart issue.
Now, when I talk about the heart, what you need to understand is in the Bible the heart isn't just referring to one's emotions. Your heart in the Bible is basically your operating system. It's your OS. It deals with your thoughts, desires, motives, emotions, and morality. It's what you think, what you feel, what you desire, and what you think, what you feel, and what you desire ultimately dictate what you do.
Think about it. Jeremiah says this in chapter 5, verse 23: **"But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away."** Jeremiah 17:9, a very well-known verse: **"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"** The point is there is a virus in everyone's operating software. The nation of Israel had stubborn, rebellious, and sick hearts. That is why their actions toward God were stubborn, rebellious, and sick.
This is really interesting. Listen to the imagery painted in Jeremiah 13:23. Jeremiah says, **"Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil."** Do you hear it? He's like, "Hey, can the leopard just be like, 'You know what? I'm not a fan of the spots anymore. Let's go a different direction this time'?" Can you change your skin color just like that? No. The point is just like a leopard can't change his spots, so you, who are bent on evil, can't do good. This is the reality.
Every single one of us has an operating system that has been corrupted. There's a virus in it. Because of that, we are incapable of living the life God requires. You can _know_ God's commands, but you can't _keep_ his commands. It's impossible. Why? Because the disease of sin that was in the first human beings, Adam and Eve, is hereditary. It has been passed to every single one of us, so every single one of us is a sinner.
Now, when I say that, I don't want to just assume everyone in the room is like, "Yeah, of course. I know I'm a sinner." I think that more than ever, during our day and age, people are like, "I don't even know what you're talking about when you're talking about sin." So, if you're a Christian, you have a responsibility to help people even understand what sin is. Here's a simple way to think of sin: _sin_ is simply calling good what God has called bad.
Shutting someone out and holding on to bitterness instead of forgiving and reconciling is now good. No, it isn't. Blasting people on social media who don't agree with you is now called good. Taking God's gift of sex, which is meant to be private, and making it public in the form of pornography is now called good. Cheating on your spouse because you have unmet needs is now called good. Making jokes at someone else's expense to get a laugh is considered good. Just think of all of the different ways that we call good what God has called bad.
You don't have to put your hands up now, but I just wonder how many people's kids came home with tears because someone was mean to them at school. My nephew this week… He's a first grader. First grader! He went to a brand-new school and came home with tears. Why? Because kids at his new school in first grade were making fun of him for being too short. Can you imagine?
Like, do you think on the way to school parents of those kids were like, "Look out for the really short kids, and when you find them, pounce. Tell them they're too short. Yeah, you send them home. You want them to know they are vertically challenged." No. There's no training. It's just what came naturally, just playing on the playground, going through school. "I need to tell you something to hurt you." It's what comes naturally. It's calling good what God has called bad.
That's the reality for all of us. In the end, we will do what we want, not what is right. That is what keeps everyone from eternity with God in heaven. Yet, watch how good God is. This is how good God is. He doesn't need us, but he wants us. Listen to his solution. Ezekiel 36 is a restatement of the new covenant, but it gives us new insight into what God does for us, because we're talking about having a new heart.
Ezekiel 36 says, **"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you…"** Do you see that? "I'm going to give you a new heart. I'm actually going to come to live inside of you. I'm going to send my Spirit." That's God living inside of you. **"**\[Because of that, I'm going to\] **cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules."** This is what reading the Old Testament teaches us: you can't obey God or be pleasing to God without a new heart from God.
Two weeks ago, my family watched the movie _Like Mike_. The reason we watched it is because when Trip Lee was here speaking, he knocked it as not being a very good movie of the past. I was like, "Okay. We don't need to see it." But then I talked to Rob Momary, and he was like, "You've got to see _Like Mike_." He's a Watermark member. I was like, "Okay. I trust you, brother in Christ." He was like, "You've got to see it." So I was like, "Guys, we've got to watch _Like Mike_."
I'm so glad we did. It's such a spiritual movie, because, as many of you know, as Trip Lee stood on this stage and explained, Calvin Cambridge ("Lil Bow Wow") finds a pair of shoes that belong to Michael Jordan, and when he puts these shoes on, he has the capacity of Michael Jordan to where now this kid, wearing Michael Jordan shoes, has the capacity to get on the court and play professional basketball and school everyone on the court. He's dunking from the free throw line. He can't miss. It's incredible. It totally turns the team around. Why? Because shoes from Michael Jordan gave him the capacity of Michael Jordan.
That's the Christian life. That's the new covenant. God gives us his Spirit. The Spirit that is from God gives us capacities to please God. If you like to theologically geek out, that's just a big theological term known as _regeneration_. Listen to how a scholar defines this term, if you want to impress people with it. That's why we call our recovery ministry here _re:generation_.
Bruce Demarest says, "Regeneration is that work of the Spirit at conversion that renews the heart and life (the inner self), thus restoring the person's intellectual, volitional, moral, emotional, and relational capacities to know, love, and serve God." This is pretty powerful, because under the new covenant, the law that was external, the force that was external, is now internal.
An external force that was crushing has become an internal one that is empowering. An external force that revealed sin is now an internal force by the power and the person of the Spirit who allows us to overcome sin. The new covenant produces internal transformation that leads to external obedience. This is really good news that God gives us a new heart.
So, what do we do with this news? Let me just say this. If you're here this morning, and you're not a Christian… You're just here exploring. Maybe you got tricked. Someone was like, "Let's go to brunch," and then they pulled into the parking lot, and they were like, "Well, we're already here; might as well go in," and now you're stuck. Whatever your story is, I just want to be as helpful to you as possible.
This is why Hebrews 11:6 says, **"And without faith it is impossible to please him…"** Like, when you stand before God, if he were to ask, "Why should I let you into heaven?" if you start with, "Well, I did \[_this_\], and I tried \[_this_\], and I did \[_this_\]," it's not going to be enough. You're talking to a perfect and holy God.
While you can never be good enough for God, Christ has come and been good enough for you. He lived the life that you couldn't. He died the death you deserve to die. He rose and conquered the grave. Now he gives the Spirit to all who receive Christ, and you're given a new heart with new capacities to live with God forever. So, if you don't know Jesus, today is the day. Put your trust in him.
If you _are_ a Christian, the new covenant should inform how you pray for your kids who aren't Christians yet. It should inform how you pray for unbelieving friends, because you're not just praying that they would trust in Christ; you're praying for a miracle. That's what you're really praying. You're praying for a miracle. Like, I've prayed for my kids from a young age, "God, would you captivate their heart at a young age? God, would you call them to yourself?"
That's a miracle. That's the Spirit of God working in their lives. For my kids to know God, the Spirit of God has to help them. There's a person in our extended family who is antagonistic toward Christianity. Our prayer for her is that God would call her to himself, that he would move miraculously in her life so that she would come to him. So, let it determine how you pray. Pray for a new heart for your unbelieving friends.
Look. If you are a Christian, here's something I want to correct. In our Community Groups, do you know what we can tend to do if someone is struggling with sin? We can tend to quote Jeremiah 17:9. "Well, you know, the heart is desperately sick." Yeah, it is, but you have a new heart. Don't stall out with who someone _was_, because that's not who they _are_ anymore. They've been given a new heart. That's what you emphasize.
What you need to encourage people with is not "Suck it up more"; it's "Surrender more." If your admonishment in community is "Try harder. Be better. Stop sinning," you are a terrible Community Group member, because you are just proclaiming moralism when Christ has come and given your group members new hearts.
Do you know what you can say? You can say, "Look. I'm here to help you. I'm with you. This isn't ultimately who you are. Don't despair; move toward desperation. Don't suck it up more; surrender more. Let's work together. God has given you a new heart. Let's get on our knees now. Let's pray that God would continue to cultivate the new heart he has given you so that your thoughts would be his thoughts, your desires would be his desires, and your motives and morality would become more and more pleasing to him." That is what it looks like to be true biblical community.
Let me encourage you. This can be really great with your kids, with your roommates, or with your Community Group members: to acknowledge it when you see the new heart of the Spirit of God working in people. I think about my son Noah. There was a time this summer… He had been at camp for two weeks straight. The dude had been running on no sleep for an extended period of time.
He came home, and there was a disagreement we were having, and it hit me in the most beautiful way, because Noah came out with this supernatural calmness, this self-control, where he was able to talk with me and say, "Look, Dad. This is why I was frustrated, but here's what I did wrong. Will you forgive me?" I looked at that, and I was like, "There is nothing that can cultivate that in my son except the Spirit of God. That is so clearly the Spirit in his life."
There are times where I'm sitting with my 13-year-old Andrew and he articulates gospel truth so clearly it shocks me, and I'm like, "Nothing can do that except the Spirit of God." It's good, as parents, to identify that in our kids and say, "Hey, that's the Spirit working in you right now. I'm so proud of who the Spirit is cultivating you to be."
This past week, I was praying with the elders. I was talking, and Blake Holmes was sharing about a situation he was stepping into. I was just overwhelmed by, like, "Only the Spirit of God can give someone that much compassion and care and a pastoral heart." We need to identify these things, call these things out, and say, "That's the Spirit in you. I'm so proud of you and what the Spirit is doing in you." God has given us new hearts.
Look. If you're living in sin right now, the answer isn't despair; it's desperation. I'll just take it back to Calvin Cambridge in _Like Mike_. The dude refused to take the shoes off. Why? Because he knew that's where the power was. He slept in the shoes. Can you imagine sleeping in shoes? Like, crawling under the covers with shoes? How uncomfortable does that feel?
There was just an understanding, like, "I'm desperate for these shoes. This is where the power is. Why would I ever take them off?" Let me ask you… If you feel like you're drowning in sin, are you despairing or are you walking in desperation? Don't take the shoes off. Beg the Spirit of God all throughout the day…not just at one moment in the morning but all throughout the day. Desperation.
2\. _A new start_. Look with me at verse 34. We're going to talk next week about how the new covenant makes a new people, but for now, we're just going to leave it at "new heart, new start." Look at this. This is beautiful. **"For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more."** That's amazing.
Under the old covenant, animal sacrifices were offered to God repeatedly for the forgiveness of sins, but listen to what Hebrews 10 tells us about animal sacrifices. **"But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year."** Do you see the difference? Under the new covenant, God says, "I will remember their sins no more." Under the old covenant, it says, "There's a reminder of sins."
Verse 4: **"For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins."** He's saying, "Look. The old covenant covered over shame; the new covenant erases shame." The old covenant reminds you every year, "Hey, you're a sinner." Do you know what the new covenant does? It just tells you, "You're saved. You're set free. You're not defined by your failures; you're defined by God's forgiveness." It's a beautiful reality.
Under the old covenant… Just follow me on this. This is Old Testament stuff. If you're new to the Bible, you might be like, "What are we talking about right now?" One of the ways the nation of Israel, the people of God in the Old Testament, would relate to God is in the house of God, the tabernacle that became the temple, there was a priest who would enter the Holy of Holies, which was a room a priest could only enter once a year.
They would offer the blood of an animal sacrifice both for _their_ sins, because they were a sinner, and for the sins of the nation of Israel. That's what would happen. They had to do this year after year after year. Listen to what is true in Christ. Hebrews 9:14: **"…how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."** Hebrews 10:18: **"Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin."**
What did the author of Hebrews just say? Here is how the new covenant is better. Don't miss it. It's a completely new start. Jesus is a better priest because he was a perfect priest. He's the better sacrifice for sin because he was a perfect sacrifice for sin, being both fully God and fully human. Through his perfect sacrifice, he perfectly satisfied God's wrath for our sin, securing our complete forgiveness.
When God looks at you, he doesn't just see all of your failures. The blood of Christ has erased your failures, past, present, and future, so that when God sees you, he sees his Son, and the love he has for Christ he has for you. The delight he has for Christ he has for you. The joy he has for Jesus he has for you. Why? Because you're in Christ and Christ is in you. Christ has redeemed you. He set you free. He has washed you clean. He has forgiven you.
This is the best news of all. Do not miss it. If you are tuned out, wake up. Hebrews 10:19: **"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus…"** What's that a reference to? It's saying this is how the new covenant is better than the old covenant. Under the old covenant, one priest, one time a year got to enter the presence of God. Now all who know Jesus Christ get to be with God now and forever.
This is how sinful humanity can be acceptable to and together with a holy God forever: because God…not because _we_ but because _God_…gives us a new heart and a new start. So, because God gives us a new start, how should this impact how we live? Let me just encourage you with three things.
First, if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, let me beg you: live forgiven. This summer, I shared very honestly about the struggle I had with pornography, that seven-year struggle between the summer before my freshman year in high school until the summer before my senior year in college. Do you know why I shared honestly about it? Because I don't have a story to hide; I have a story to tell. My past failures, somehow, because of Christ's forgiveness, have become trophies of his grace. You have a story to tell if you've been forgiven by Christ.
Look. Shame is really powerful in our world. What is shame? _Guilt_ is "I _did_ something bad." _Shame_ is "I _am_ something bad." So many unbelievers live under this weight of shame. It is powerful for you to say, "Yes, I had an abortion, but I'm not defined by my abortion. I've been forgiven by Christ. I've been set free. I've been made new."
"I used to act out on my same-sex desires, yet that's not what defines me. Christ defines me. He has made me new." "Yes, my marriage fell apart, and I'm a big part of that, yet that is not what defines me. God has done a work in me, and he has forgiven me." "Yes, there was this whole season of lying or cheating or manipulating or cutting corners. Yes, I've done _this_ and _this_ and _this_, yet those things don't define me."
You might have to process through those things. You might need to seek forgiveness from others and pursue reconciliation. You might need to come to a ministry like re:generation or re|engage just for God to do a work of healing in your life. The reality is, because of the new covenant, God takes our failures and trades them for his forgiveness and favor.
This is what's on the table for you. If you're here today, and you're like, "I don't belong here. I don't think God could ever love me…" Look. If he could love _me_, he can love _you_. If he could love all of the members of this church, I guarantee you he can love _you_. He can forgive you. So live forgiven.
My second encouragement is this: part of living forgiven is leaving the sin for which Christ came to set you free. Like, leave the sin. I remember, when I struggled with pornography, there were times where I would tell myself, "Well, in the end, God will forgive me." Do you ever do that? "Well, Jesus will forgive me for this, so I'm going to go ahead and do it." Do you know how distorted of an understanding we have of the gospel when we say, "Well, God will forgive me so I can go ahead and do this"?
It completely cuts out Christ having to endure the wrath of God so that you _don't_ do that. It completely rules out the fact that God actually came to live inside of you and make you his home because he wants to lead you, because he loves you. He's trying to take you to life, and you're like, "You know what? You'll forgive me. I'm going to run toward death again. Death sounds so much better than life." Jesus says, "I came to set you free." You're like, "Yeah, but I really like the chains." Live free.
Finally, my encouragement is this: because you've been given a new start, don't wait until heaven to truly enjoy God's presence. Jesus didn't go to the cross just so you could wake up, read the Bible, close it, and go to work. He came so you could sit _with_ him in the morning. As you read, he speaks to you. As you pray, you speak to him. It's not just communication; it's presence. Don't settle for a long-distance relationship with God.
Several years ago, a friend of mine was serving at this big conference. It was a conference that was in an arena, and all of these Christians who are considered famous… I feel dirty even saying that, because that's not even a thing. Like, Christian celebrities…gross. That's on us for celebritizing people. But it was this conference in an arena, and my friend was serving at it, so I got to tag along.
Because I was tagging along with him, they gave me a credential that had two letters on it, _AA_, which stands for All Access, which is really interesting, because I was not offering anything to this conference. I was just there for free, so I was actually hurting their cause. But they gave me this credential that said "AA" (All Access) on it. I was like, "I wonder where I can really go with this. Is this really 'all access'?"
I was like, "I'm going to see if I can go through the tunnel where only the people who are on stage really go." And I'm a rule follower, so I'm like… I begin to walk out into the arena through the tunnel. The girl who at the time was hitting with everyone… She had just come off the stage, and she walks right past me. I'm like, "This is all access." There are the people who check credentials. I'm like, "They're about to tell me I'm not able to be here." I'm just like, "Good to see you."
I kept waiting for someone to tell me I didn't belong, because I didn't do anything to deserve it. The reality is that because of Christ… Hebrews 10:19 says, **"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places…"** Christ has slapped credentials on us that say "All Access," and we don't have to walk in timidly, like, "Well, _they_ belong here, but I definitely don't, and you're about to tell me I don't belong." No. Christ is like, "Yeah, you can come in," yet we're like, "Yeah, I'm too busy today, but thanks for the invite."
He's like, "You can just come right in. We can spend all day together. We can live close," and we're like, "Yeah, that sounds good, but, man, I've got this thing to check right here, and I've got my Outlook up, and I've got so much to do." He's like, "But we can live life together. You can enjoy me. You can know the joy of my presence. You can taste heaven now." So, I'm just asking you… Don't wait until heaven to begin to enjoy God's presence. It's a season of new. New heart, new start. It's easy to hear, but will you live it? Let's pray together.
Thank you, God, that through Christ there is a new and better covenant, one where you give us new hearts. We don't have to try and muscle our way to be pleasing to you. The encouragement isn't to go out and suck it up; it's to go out and just surrender more, because you, God, have given us new hearts through faith with a new capacity to be pleasing to you. Would you help us, God? May we live forgiven. Lord, if there's anyone here right now, anyone in the Chapel, anyone in the Town Center, who doesn't know you, yet they sense right now that you are inviting them to experience complete forgiveness…
If that's you, if I'm talking to you, if you sense that God is saying, "I can forgive you. I want to live life with you," then I want to invite you right now to pray, "Lord Jesus, would you come into my life this morning? Thank you that you died for me. Thank you that you rose from the dead for me. Would you forgive me of all of my sins? Would you lead me into new life?"
Thank you, God, for who you are and what you've done. I pray that we, the people of God, would live like the people of God, knowing that we have new hearts and a new start. We sing to you now. In Jesus' name, amen.