In this sermon, the speaker discusses the covenant of the Lord's Supper and its significance. They emphasize the importance of understanding the series of teachings on covenant in order to fully grasp the message. The speaker warns against being deceived and turning away from serving God, as it can lead to negative consequences. They also highlight the need to love and seek the Lord with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. The sermon references various Bible verses, including Psalm 105 and Luke chapter 2, to support the teachings on covenant and loving God.

This is tape number 14 in a series. We urge you to listen to all the tapes in the series in numerical order so that the whole teaching can be received and understood. Listening to a part of the series, or to the tapes out of sequence, can lead to a misunderstanding of the nature, the intent, and the importance of this series. We're going to be speaking about the covenant of the Lord. And this is to be a culmination of everything we've talked about all week long in covenants. We're coming to this one place. But you'll miss some things, and I'm just going to hope that after partaking of the Lord's Supper this morning, you'll never partake of it the same again. It's not the same method. You're going to do something maybe differently this morning than you're used to. But I hope that you never approach the Lord's Table the same again. Except as a holy table with a whole heart. I want you to begin with me in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, and we're just going to look at the ordinance itself. 1 Corinthians chapter 11. 1 Corinthians chapter 11. And we're going to look at the ordinance that's given to us that we call the Lord's Supper. 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 23. Paul says, For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, in the night in which he was betrayed, took bread. And when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Now I want you to know, when he said, Do this in remembrance of me, he was talking about the covenant, and he said, I want you to remember the covenant. Notice what he says. Verse 25. In the same way, he took the cup also after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. And so, when he says in remembrance of me, he is not just saying, Remember I'm going to come back someday. He's not just saying, Remember I died for you. He's saying, Remember the covenant that I have established for you. Do you see that? Do this in remembrance of me, and make yourself aware of the covenant that I have established for you. He says, For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. That means much more than what we've made it to mean. We've talked about that as meaning simply this, that Jesus died for us, he's going to come back again. But when he said, As often as you do it, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes, he's saying, You are proclaiming that walk of death that I entered into on your behalf, to make covenant on your behalf. Are you with me? Now, I want to go back and begin to see the events leading up to Jesus making covenant, and we're going to tie that into the Lord's supper. So I want you to go back with me to Genesis chapter 17. Genesis chapter 17. And if you have not heard the messages on how God made that covenant with Abraham by walking through the pieces, I urge you to listen to the messages on the tapes to understand how Jesus walked through the pieces on your behalf. But I'm not going there this morning. I want you to go with me to Genesis chapter 17. Chapter 17 starting with verse 10. This is my covenant which you shall keep. He clearly says to us that the covenant is something that we're to keep. This is my covenant which you're to keep. And he says in verse 9 that Abraham and all his descendants throughout their generations were to keep the covenant. And so God gives us the covenant to keep. It is our responsibility to keep it. But he says this is my covenant which you shall keep between me and you and your descendants after you. Galatians chapter 3 verse 29 says that if you belong to Christ, you are a descendant of Abraham or an heir of Abraham according to promise. And so if we're going to hold on to the blessings of Abraham, Galatians 3 says that Jesus Christ became a curse for us on the cross that we might inherit the blessings of Abraham. In other words, God died in the person of Jesus Christ and rose again so that we might walk in covenant with him and inherit the blessings of the covenant. And then he says in verse 11, and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin and it shall be the sign of the covenant. Every covenant has a sign. We saw what that sign was in the new covenant last night. The sign or pledge of the covenant is, well, the sign of the covenant is a circumcised heart, not just circumcision on the outside, but a circumcised heart. And God gives as a seal of that covenant his Holy Spirit as the pledge of promise that he'll fulfill all that he said he would do in that covenant. Now notice this. Verse 12, and every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised and throughout your generations a servant who is born in the house or who is brought with money with any foreigner who is not of your descendants. A servant who is born in your house or who is brought with your money shall be circumcised, thus shall my covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. Now, I want you to turn with me to the 15th chapter of Genesis, Genesis 15. God made this covenant with Abraham, gave him a sign and a seal that he was absolutely going to perform the covenant. The seal was an outward sign. Circumcision was something done on the outside to remind them of God's covenant. Are you understanding me? Are you hearing what I'm saying? As we come to the Lord's Supper, the Lord's Supper is an outward sign of something that he's done inwardly in us and we are to be reminded of the covenant that he has made with us in the Lord Jesus Christ. And in Genesis chapter 15, we see the promise that God gave to Abraham. Genesis 15, verse 5, and he took him outside and said, Now look toward the heavens and count the stars, if you're able to count them. And he said, So shall your descendants be. And we saw this week that that was a staggering promise for Abraham, a staggering promise because he couldn't even have a child. And he told him, All your descendants will be many. And in verse 6, that he believed in the Lord and he reckoned it to him as righteousness. And he said to him, I am the Lord who brought you out of the Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess it. And he said, O Lord, how may I know that I shall possess it? And as we saw this week that God walked through the pieces of the split animals to make covenant as Jesus Christ walked through those pieces on Abraham's behalf. But I want you to notice what he promised him. He promised him the land of Canaan that he would possess it. In covenant, he said, Abraham, this is how you shall know that you'll possess all that I have promised you and all that I've given you because I made covenant with you. Are you with me so far? Now, I want you to go with me to Exodus chapter 2 because we now have a scene in Exodus chapter 2 where we find 430 years later, a covenant had been made 430 years previously with Abraham and the promise of that covenant is that the children of Abraham's descendants, all of Abraham's descendants would inherit a land. But something's happened to those people. They're not living in the land of inheritance. They are in the land of Egypt and they're in bondage to Pharaoh, a king. And Pharaoh is over them as a hard taskmaster and that's a spiritual picture for us. Egypt represents the world and Pharaoh represents the powers of darkness or Satan and his rule of bondage over the lives of people in the world. And so we find that the people and children of Israel were in bondage and they cried out to God. Now, notice what they said in Exodus chapter 2 verse 23. Now, it came about in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died and the sons of Israel sighed because of their bondage. And they cried out and their cry for help because of their bondage rose up to God. So God heard their groaning and God remembered, remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. How many of you see that? God remembered His covenant. Now, Exodus chapter 3 verse 7. God appeared to a man by the name of Moses in a burning bush. And verse 7, And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and I have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters for I am aware of their sufferings. So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land to a land flowing with milk and honey to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to me. Furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. Therefore, come now and I will send you to Pharaoh so that you may bring my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt. Now, here's what happened. They were in covenant with God. Pharaoh was a taskmaster over them. When you touch God's covenant people, you touch Him. And he now sets to do battle with their taskmaster and their oppressor. And that taskmaster and oppressor, of course, in our spiritual terms represents Satan and the powers of darkness. And God is going to deliver them out of the world by covenants. Are you with me? This same covenant that we're called to remember, God delivers us out of the hands of Satan and all of his domain into the covenant of His beloved Son. Now, notice what happens. Turn with me to Exodus chapter 12. We're leading up to something, so follow with me closely. Exodus chapter 12. Exodus chapter 12. We saw that Abraham in that covenant had a son by the name of Isaac. Isaac had a son by the name of Jacob. Jacob was called Israel, and that means he was a prince with God. And he had 12 sons, and those 12 sons became the 12 heads of the tribes of Israel. And that is so grown that by the time we get to this book of Exodus, it opens with probably about 2 million people 430 years later. And these 2 million people had been in bondage, but God heard their cry and remembered His covenant with Abraham that He's going to give them a land to possess, and He calls a deliverer to come and stand before the people, to stand before Pharaoh. And that deliverer was Moses, and he is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ that commands the enemy and the oppressor to let my people go. Now, I want you to notice what happened. He was saying to Pharaoh, if you touch my covenant people, you touch me, because I'm now living for them because they're living for me. It's dangerous to enslave a person walking under covenant with God. Are you hearing what I'm saying? It's dangerous to come against them if they take hold of the covenant. Now, he came to him and said, let my people go. Now, I want you to notice what happened. We won't go into it, but you'll find there were 10 miracles of the covenant God that took place. God was establishing Himself as the only God. The Egyptians, Pharaoh and the Egyptians, worshipped the river Nile. You know what God did to the river Nile? He said, Pharaoh, let my people go. Pharaoh refused, and the result was he turned the God of the Nile that they worshipped to blood. And they worshipped Him. And he was declaring, I have destroyed, I have destroyed your God, and I am the only God in all the earth. And that was what he was declaring. Not only that, but they, in Egypt, they worshipped frogs. Now, can you imagine the mess they had? Because God caused a plague of frogs to come over the whole land, all over the land, everywhere they looked. They probably had them in their ovens, they had them in their house, they had them in the land. They had a problem, because they worshipped the frogs as a God, and they couldn't kill them. And the God of heaven was saying, I am the only true God. Likewise, they also worshipped the east wind, and God let the east wind blow, and He brought locusts upon the land and destroyed all of their harvest. And he was declaring to them, I am the only God. Let my people go. Are you with me? Well, he wasn't finished there, because they had others. They had an idol to the sky. They worshipped the sky. So God just turned the sky black. He said, I'm the God and the only God of the sky. Each God, one after another, was destroyed before Pharaoh and the Egyptians' eyes, until finally they came to the last God that was left in the land of Egypt, the God Ra'ah, to whom most of the pyramids were dedicated, and He was called the God of death. And God told Moses to tell Pharaoh and the Egyptians, if you don't let my people go, then a death angel is going to pass over you and destroy the firstborn of every one of your families, because I am the only God, the God of heaven. And so God began to systematically destroy all of the gods of Egypt. Are you hearing what I'm saying? So that God's people could be let free by covenants. Now, in Exodus chapter 12, I want you to read something with me. In verse 1 of Exodus 12, Now the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, This month, now notice this, they're in bondage in the world, in Egypt, and God's going to do something on their behalf, and He says, This month shall be the what? Talk with me. The beginning of months for you is to be the first month of the year to you. In other words, He said to them, I'm about to do something on your behalf. And this month is going to be a brand new life for you. This is the start of your life. The rest of your life is not counted. From this point forward, you began a new life. There's another deliverer who does the same thing. His name is Jesus. And when you come to Jesus with a whole heart to make Him Lord, God says, This day is like the first day of the rest of your life. It's the beginning of life for you. Now, notice the picture. He said, Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, On the tenth of this month, they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their father's household, a lamb for each household. Now, I'm going to remind you of this later, but I just want you to know they were to take a lamb on the tenth of the month of Nisan. May I say to you, there was another lamb on the tenth of the month of Nisan who seated himself on the back of an ass and rode into Jerusalem. And the people said, Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna to the highest. There was another lamb. Now, notice this. Now, verse 4. Now, if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them, according to what each man should eat. And you are to divide the lamb. Your lamb shall be an unblemished male, a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you may keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight. Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they may eat it. And they shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roast it with fire, because both its head and its legs, along with its entrails." Now, the reason he told them that is because in Egypt, in Egypt they worship a God to whom they ate raw meat. And so what he was saying is, I don't want you to have any identification at all with the idols and the worship of the world. This is going to be a new life for you, and it's not going to be like that world, Egypt. Are you with me? And here's what he said to them. He said, every one of you is to take a lamb. Every single one of you is to take a lamb and you're to eat it. Now, if you have a household that is not big enough to eat a whole lamb, then you're to join yourself with another household so that together you may eat the lamb and the lamb be totally consumed. And here's what he says to them. Verse 11, Now you shall eat it in this manner, with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's Passover. Here's what he's telling them. Now listen to me carefully. He's telling them that each of you are to eat this lamb and you're to be ready to make a journey, a walk. And there's going to be a walk involved, and I'm going to lead you and you'll be following me in this walk. And he's giving us a picture of entering into a walk, not an experience, but a walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you hearing what I'm saying? And he says, now here's the way you're going to enter that walk. You're all going to be gathered together. You're all going to be one. All of you are going to have, when you begin this walk, a lamb on the inside of this walk. May I just tell you that lamb is Jesus. Do this in remembrance of my covenant. Now, let's see what happens. The father, now notice this. The father, the head of each family, was to take what kind of a lamb did we read about? He was to take an unblemished lamb without spot. He was to take an unblemished lamb without spot. Tradition tells us he would also take his firstborn son and the unblemished lamb. And they would begin to take this lamb at about 3 p.m. And they would begin to take this lamb and the father would instruct the son. He would say, son, you're the firstborn of my family. God has told us that there's going to be an angel come over this whole land. Son, you are worthy of death. But God's made a way out for us and out of our bondage. Son, we're to take this lamb and we're to take this blood from this lamb and we're to spread it over the whole doorpost so that when the death angel comes over our house, son, your life will be spared. They would take this lamb and they would kill the lamb. And then if you look with me in verse 22, this is what they did in verse 22. It says, And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin and apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts and none of you shall go outside the door of his house until morning for the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts. The Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you. How many of you see that? Now, after they left Egypt and they had gone out, we're going to see something. Verse 21, Then Moses called for all the elders and said to them, Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families and they're to slay the Passover lamb. Now, there was something else that they were to do. Verse 15, Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread but on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. Now, leaven was a type of sin or wickedness in the Bible. And so they were to take out all the leaven from their houses whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be what? Cut off from Israel. Now, he wasn't pricing a premium on leavened versus unleavened bread. That wasn't what he was doing. He was showing the fact that leaven, a little leaven, can destroy a whole household. We're going to see that in a moment because leaven was a sign of wickedness. And so he's saying you're to go through the house and clean out all of the leaven out of the house. And you are to eat the Passover with me. When we come to the Lord's table, we're going to see something. This is exactly what God expects us to do. We're going to see in a moment, he says, examine yourself. Examine yourself. What's he talking about? We're to come before God with a whole heart and examine ourselves and remove all of the leaven in our hearts before God to clean it out of the house. Are you with me? Turn with me to Deuteronomy 6. And we'll see what God's after when you come to partake of the Lord's supper. Deuteronomy 6. Deuteronomy 6. Verse 1. Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it. Now is that where he was leading them from Israel to go possess the land? Now look at this. Here's how you go possess the land. He says that he's going to teach the commandments so that you can do what? Do them. That you can do them in the land where you're going to possess it. Verse 2. So that you and your son and your grandson might fear the Lord your God to keep all his statutes and his commandments which I commanded you all the days of your life that your days may be prolonged. O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you in a land flowing with milk and honey. Now is that what he told Moses to take them to? Now look at this. Here's how you're going to get there. Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might and these words which I'm commanding you today shall be on your hearts. Now let me ask you a question. That's the Old Testament. Has it changed? Jesus said that the way to enter into fellowship with him in the kingdom of God, there's two commandments. To love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. May I say to you, God's way of salvation has always been to come to him with all your heart. Are you with me? He's always been after your heart, not your outward religious activities, not what you can do for him. God wants your heart because when he gets your heart, he has you. Now notice this. Here's what he said. Turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 8. Deuteronomy chapter 8, verse 11. Beware lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his ordinances and his statutes which I'm commanding you today, lest when you have eaten and are satisfied and have built good houses... Now here's what he's saying. Once you get to the land, be careful that you don't forget the Lord your God. Make sure that when you start this journey with that lamb on the inside of you, you don't forget the Lord your God. And when you get to the land and you've built houses and you've eaten and you're satisfied, verse 13, when your herds and your flocks multiply and your silver and gold multiply and all that you have multiplies, make sure that you are careful that, verse 13, then your heart becomes proud and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. He said when you start this journey with the lamb on the inside, it's a walk with him. Make sure when you build your houses, when your gold and silver increase, make sure when your herds and your flocks increase and all that you have multiplies, make sure you don't depart from obeying his word and forget God. Verse 18, But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who is giving you the power to make well, that he may confirm his what? His covenant, which he swore to your fathers as it is to this day. Turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 10, verse 12. Deuteronomy chapter 10, verse 12. Now this is the instruction that he gave them as they're going on their way. This is the same instruction. Let me ask you a question. Does this sound like it applies to the New Testament as well? It absolutely does. Deuteronomy chapter 10, verse 12. And now Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him? This is what God calls. He requires of you to fear the Lord your God, to walk in how many of his ways? All his ways, and to do what? To fear him and to love him and to serve the Lord your God with how much of your heart? All your heart and all your soul. Has that changed any? And to keep the Lord's commandments and his statutes, which I'm commanding for you today. Verse 16, Circumcise then your what? Your heart and stiffen your neck no more, for the Lord your God is the God of gods. Is that what he showed the Pharaoh in the land of Egypt? He's the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who does not show partiality, nor does he take a bribe. In other words, he'll accept nothing less than your whole heart. Are you with me? No bribe you can give him will satisfy him to take anything less than your whole heart. I'll serve you with me. Now, turn with me to Deuteronomy 11, 13. And it shall come about, if you listen obediently to my commandments, which I'm commanding you today, to love the Lord your God and serve him. There it is again. What are you to serve him with? All your heart and all your soul. Then he'll give the rain for your land in its season, the early and the late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil, and he'll give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you shall eat and be satisfied. But notice the warning, verse 16. Beware, beware, lest your hearts be deceived and you turn away and serve other gods and worship them. Or the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and he will shut up the heavens so there'll be no rain and the ground will not yield its fruit and you'll perish quickly from the good land which the Lord has given you. You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul. You shall bind them as a sign. Where are you supposed to put them? On your heart. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand. They shall be frontals on your forehead. And you shall teach them to your sons, talking of them, when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. He says, I want you to teach your children after you that they were to listen obediently to my word, to keep my commandments, and to love me with all their hearts. Is that what he said? He says to the head of every household, and may I say to you that when you head to the household, fathers, when you come, let this be a reminder, when you come to the Lord's table, you come understanding that I'm coming as the head of my household and I, God, will teach my children. Walk with me and humbly stand before me. I'm not going to teach my children. I'm going to remember your covenant and teach my children to obey you. Verse 26. See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse. The blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I'm commanding you today. And the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I'm commanding you today by following other gods which you have not known. May I ask you, has that changed any? Do you get blessed by walking with the Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart? Do you get a curse whenever you decide to follow other gods and build those idols in your own hearts? Now notice what he says to us, the warning he gives us. Verse 22. For if you are careful to keep all this commandment, which I'm commanding you to do it. So what is that commandment? Now look at the commandment he gave. And I don't say just love. Look at the commandment that he gave that we're to do. It's the same as the new covenant. This is the commandment I'm commanding you. To love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him. Turn with me to Isaiah. And we'll see how you hold fast to the Lord. Isaiah 56. Turn with me to Isaiah chapter 56. Isaiah chapter 56. Isaiah chapter 56. Verse 1. Thus says the Lord, preserve justice and do righteousness. For my salvation is about to come and my righteousness to be revealed. How blessed is the man who does this and the son of man who, what does he do? He takes hold of it, who keeps from profaning the Sabbath and keeps his hand from doing any evil. Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, The Lord will surely separate me from His people. Neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I'm a dry tree. For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs who keep my Sabbath and choose what pleases me and hold fast my covenant. May I say to you that that's how you hold fast the covenant is you choose what pleases Him. How many of you see that? That's how you hold fast the covenant. You hold fast the covenant by choosing what pleases Him as you walk with this Lamb on the inside of you. Are you with me? And look what God promises you when you do that. Verse 5. To them I will give in my house and within my walls a memorial. The King James says, A place and a name. And a name better than that of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off. Are you with me? Now, He told us if you eat the leaven, if you keep the leaven in your heart, what's going to happen to you? You're going to be cut off. Is that what we read in Exodus 12? If you walk in the wickedness of leaven, if you have leaven in your house, you're going to be cut off. This is your house. This body is your house. God's going to cut you off. But if you hold fast His covenant, how do you hold fast His covenant? By choosing what pleases Him. He says, I'll give you a name better than that of sons and daughters. It's an everlasting name. And you'll never be cut off. Is that what He said? Alright, now notice. Verse 6. The foreigners who join themselves to the Lord to minister to Him and to love the name of the Lord. How are you supposed to love the Lord? With all your heart. To be His servants. Everyone who keeps from profaning the Sabbath and holds fast what? My covenant. Even those I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer. God says, you choose what pleases Me. You get a name that won't be cut off. You'll be brought to God's holy mountain and you'll be made joyful in His house of prayer. And that's His promise of covenant. Now, turn with me to the 105th Psalm. Psalm 105. Now, we're talking about these people who came out of Egypt. Can I show you what God did for them in terms of covenant? Psalm 105. It's so good, I may just read the whole thing. Psalm 105. And we're going to see what God did for them in covenant. Now, remember, here they are. They're told to slaughter this lamb and they're told to have this lamb in their heart. It's going to be on the inside of them. Is that right? Every family is to have a lamb on the inside to make haste. We're going to go on a walk. It's not just an experience. It's a walk. Is that right? Clean out all the leaven. Hold fast to the covenant. Choose what pleases Him. And love Him with all your heart, all your strength, and all your might, all your soul. Notice this. Here's what God says He does. Verse 1, Psalm 105. O give thanks to the Lord. Call upon His name. Make known His deeds among the people. Sing to Him. Sing praises to Him. Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name. Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. Seek the Lord in His strength. Seek His face continually. Remember His wonders which He has done, His marvels, and the judgments uttered by His mouth. O seed of Abraham, His servant. O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones. Did we see this week, the way of Esau and the way of Jacob? He is the Lord our God. His judgments are in all the earth. He has remembered. What's He remembered? He's remembered His covenant forever. The word which He commanded to how many generations? A thousand generations. The covenant which He made with Abraham. His oath to Isaac. And then He confirmed it to Jacob as a statue to Israel as an everlasting covenant. Let me ask you a question. Do you realize in Romans 9, as we read this week, that not all are Israel who are descended from Israel, but they are Israel who have descended from Isaac with the whole heart of Jesus. This covenant is for you. Now look what He says. Verse 11. Saying to you, I will give the land of Canaan. Is that what we read in Genesis? I'll give the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance? When they were only a few men in number, very few and strangers in it, and they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, He permitted no man to oppress them. He reproved kings for their sakes. Do not touch My anointed ones and do My prophets no harm. It sounds like the God of covenant is ready to stand and do battle on your behalf. And then He says, He called for famine upon the land. He broke the whole staff of bread. He sent a man before them, Joseph, who was a soul as a slave. They afflicted his feet with fetters, and he himself was laid in irons until the time that His word came to pass. The word of the Lord tested him. The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples, and set him free. Verse 25, He turned their hearts to hate for His people, to deal craftily with His servants. He sent Moses, that's this Pharaoh that came over Egypt. He sent Moses. God sent Moses His servant, an heir in whom He had chosen. They performed His wondrous acts among the people and miracles in the land of Ham. He sent darkness and made it dark, and they did not rebel against His words. He turned their waters into blood and caused their fish to die, their land swarmed with frogs, even in chambers of their kings. He spoke, and there came a swarm of flies and gnats in all their territory. He gave them hail for rain and flaming fire in their land. He struck down their vines also and their fig trees and shattered the trees of their territory. He spoke, and the locusts came, and the young locusts, even without number, and ate up all the vegetation in their land and ate up the fruit of their ground. He also struck down all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their vigor. He stood against the powers of darkness and the ruler of this world, the God of this world, in order that His people might be set free. The nation of Israel continued to perform this covenant act of the Passover. Are you with me? To remember that their God had delivered Him out and they were to love Him with all their heart. But may I say to you that they had forgotten to love Him with all their heart and it had become a ritual to them. And they observed a Passover meal with the Passover lambs. The lambs were to be slaughtered in the temple and the households were to meet individually and they were going to have a Passover supper. And here's what they did. They had a pouch that had three wafers in that pouch. And in each one of the sleeves of that pouch there was a wafer and they would begin to take the middle wafer and break it because it stood for their covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And so when they observed the Passover meal they would partake of a cup of the fruit of the vine and a wafer that was broken to inaugurate the covenant. And Jacob, Rebekah, God delivered them out. And then they had another cup that was turned upside down and they absolutely would not touch that cup. It was called the cup. They were doing that about the time of Jesus. Luke chapter 2, verse 8. And in the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terribly frightened. And an angel said to them, Do not be afraid for behold I bring you what kind of news? Good news of great joy. Did we just read that He brought them out to observe His commandments so that they might be filled with joy? He brought them good news of great joy which shall be for all the people. For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Turn with me to John 1. John chapter 1. John chapter 1. First chapter of John. Verse 1. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God and He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life and the life was the life of men. Verse 12. As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God even to those who believed in His name. Who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man. But what were they born of? God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten from the Father full of grace and truth. And who is He? His name. The next day He saw Jesus coming to Him and said, Behold the Lamb who takes away the stuff. Let's see if this Lamb requires the same thing in the New Covenant that the old Lamb did about cleaning out the leaven. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians. It says this Lamb is to take away the sin of the world. Is that what He said? He wants to take away the leaven. 1 Corinthians chapter 5. Let's see what happens. We have a story here, a situation where a man was living with his own mother in sexual immorality and the church had forgotten the importance of removing the leaven in the house. And they had stood fast and not even said anything to him. And so Paul is going to speak to them and address them. And notice what he says. Verse 1, 1 Corinthians 5. It is actually reported that there is immorality among you and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles that someone has his father's wife and you have become arrogant and have not mourned instead in order that the one who had done this deed might be removed from the midst. For I on my part though absent in body but present in spirit have already judged him who has so committed this as though I were present. In the name of our Lord Jesus wherein you are assembled and I with you in spirit in the power of our Lord Jesus I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven... How much? A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. Clean out the old leaven that you may be a new lump just as you are in fact unleavened for Christ our... He's still just as serious about cleaning... I'll share you with me. In Exodus 28 and I'm not going to have you turn there there was something that always happened with priests. In the Old Testament the high priest once a year would go into the temple. It's called the Day of Atonement. The high priest you'll read about this in Aaron's Garments in Exodus 28 but the high priest had stones on the front of his vestiges and two stones on his shoulder. Those stones had to now... This high priest would do something. He couldn't have any sin in his life. He had to be an unblemished high priest just like the lamb in Exodus 12 had to be an unblemished lamb. So they would tie a rope around his foot so that when he went into the Holy of Holies that he was not clean and pure. That's the place where the... And here's what he would do. He would take a lamb and he would place his hands on that lamb and he would pray over that lamb for the sins of his soul. And then he would take a knife and he would slit that lamb in the side. He would then take that blood into the Holy of Holies. I'm not going through the whole process but he would sprinkle the blood in the Holy of Holies. He would then come back out. Now notice what happened to him. Here you are and you're watching the whole thing. Now watch this. The high priest on your behalf goes into the Holy of Holies. You know what happens? For a temporary moment you can behold him no longer. Are you with me? And then he comes out of that Holy of Holies and when he comes out he then takes a goat. He lays his hands on the goat. Now turn with me to John chapter... No, excuse me. Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter... It's Luke 22. We'll go to Luke 22. Verse 14. And when the hour had come he reclined at the table and the apostles with him and he said to them I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. This is Jesus speaking. And I say to you I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And when he had taken... Now what's that word? A cup. Now if you got to King James it's going to be a little differently in a moment but it'll still make sense to you. He took a cup. Is that what it says? I say is that what it says? He took a cup and giving thanks he said take this and share it among yourselves. Now I want you to notice what he did. He took a cup and he handed it to them and told them to share it among themselves. Is that right? Notice this. For I say to you I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes. And when he had taken some bread and given thanks he broke it and gave it to them saying this is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. He took the cup after, after, after they had eaten saying this cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant that Abraham just like Jewish customs he reached in and he poured out. I want you to notice something. I said that when that high priest went into the Holy of Holies now let's see what happens. Now I want you to notice something. We said that that lamb in Exodus 12 had to be examined for three days. There's another lamb we're talking about. As a matter of fact he was so unblemished with Pilate who tried to repent. Judas found no place for repentance but even he recognized that he had betrayed an innocent life at the very time at the very hour temple priests were examining these unblemished lambs that this lamb for the Passover was to be sacrificed by slitting his side first of all with the blood whenever they were getting ready to go with Herod's rod the authority of Ames rod said I was the manna that fell we just saw. It was overlaid with time they set up the temple again they put that box chapter 14 let not your heart be what troubled believe in God believe also in me in my father's house are many and by the way it does not mean mansions it means dwelling places in my father's house there are many dwelling places now how many of you see that many dwelling places if it were not so I would have told you I go and where's he going he says I'm going to go prepare a place for you and if I go there and prepare a place for you what's he gonna do I'll come again and receive you to myself that where I am there you may be also now how many of you see that now here's what he said now I know we've made that sound like heaven but now watch carefully what takes place he said I'm going my father's household has a lot of mansions up until this time there'd only been one place that there had been a dwelling place for God one mansion one dwelling place where was that that was in that temple where they took that ark of the covenant are you with me now there'd only been one only one and only one high priest could go into the holy of holies once a year and that's all now listen to me get the picture Jesus said there's a difference in my father's house there's more than one mansion there's more than one household there's more than one dwelling place and I'm going to go away and when I go away I'm going to come back what did that high priest do that high priest walked into the holy of holies on behalf of the whole nation and he was gone from their sight for a while and they couldn't see him but he came back and when he came back out the work had been finished and a place was created for them before God are you hearing what I'm saying notice what he says here's what he says is going to happen now he's trying to tell us something and he's trying to lead up to something so we don't miss it so watch closely verse 16 and I will and when he goes away he's going to what's he going to do he's going to prepare a place for us so that wherever he is we'll be there also is that what we just read verse 16 that I'll ask the father and he'll give you another helper that he may be with you how long forever we saw that helper last night the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it does not behold him or know him but you know him because he abides with you and where's he going to be he's going to be in you I will not leave you as orphans what does he say what does he say is that the second coming let's see let's see now notice what he says verse 21 he verse 20 in that day you shall know that I am in the father the world will behold me no more but you will behold me because I live you shall live also in that day you shall know that I am in my father and you in me and I in you remember these people over in Exodus what did they do they ate a lamb and put the lamb I say is that what they did all right now notice this notice what happens notice what takes place verse 21 he who has my commandments and keeps them he it is who loves me and he who loves me shall be loved by my father and I'll love him and will disclose myself to him verse 26 but the helper now verse 25 these things I've spoken to you while abiding with you but the helper the Holy Spirit whom the father will send in my name he'll teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you now listen to this language carefully peace I live with you my peace I give to you not as the world gives do I give to you let not your heart be troubled nor let it be fearful you have heard that I said to you I go away I will come to you if you love me you would have rejoiced because I go to the father where's he going to go to where's he going to go to to the father he said for the father is greater than I now did he say when he goes to the father he's going to come back is that what he said he said I'm going to go prepare a place now look and now I have told you before it comes to pass that when it comes to pass you may believe can I tell you why I don't think he's talking about heaven do you think you'll recognize a difference I say do you think you'll recognize a difference do you think he'd have to tell you all of this again before you'd know where you are do you I say do you no but what did he tell them what did he say to them he said basically one my peace I leave with you and my spirit I give to you and I'm telling you these things now so that when it comes to pass you may I say is that what he said to John there was only one dwelling place listen to me listen to me there was only one dwelling place people whenever they got ready to move that dwelling place they had to move they had to move the ark of the temple is that right a box overlaid with gold with three symbols of Jesus lying in the middle an angel at the head of course went away again to their own homes but Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping and so as she wept she stooped and looked into the tomb and she beheld two angels and where's he gone Mary has been talking to somebody and all of a sudden she recognizes the person she's been talking to in verse 16 Jesus said to her Mary and she turned and said to him in Hebrew which means teacher now look what Jesus said Jesus said to her don't touch me stop clinging to me don't touch me yet stop clinging what a strange thing to say to somebody who's in love with you and really wants to know you're alive stop clinging to me why for I have not yet ascended to the father that go to my brethren and say to them I ascend to my father and your father and mine that where he was they would be all he said now when I come back I'm telling you some things in advance so that when it happens you'll know that I told you he said I'm going to give you the helper the Holy Spirit and I'm going to give you my people in this same chapter an amazing thing happens when therefore it was evening on what day the same day the same day that he told Mary not to touch him because he hadn't gone to the father when it was evening now on that same day the first day of the week when the doors were shut where the disciples were for fear of the Jews Jesus came and stood in their midst and the fact he can be touched you know why because he's already gone where that I told you carrying you on his chest your name next to his heart and on his shoulders he carried you into the Holy of Holies deposited his blood on that Holy Christ you beheld him no longer but he came back to you and when he left he deposited his blood on the whole here's what he says verse 21 and Jesus said to them again peace be with you as the father has sent me I also send you and when he had said this he breathed on them and said to them Jesus Christ opened up through this cup the only thing that you have to do is make sure that you clean all of the Luke 11 we're just about finished Luke chapter 11 figure out what to include and what to take out just bear with me but I do know that I want you in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 1 Corinthians chapter 11 verse 23 for I receive from the Lord that which I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and said this is my body which is for you do this in remembrance of me in the same way he took the cup also the cup after supper now which cup was it the cup and when did he do it after supper Luke 22 tells us which cup it was it was the cup of the Messiah he took the cup of the Messiah after supper remember the first cup he gave them before the supper this one he gave them after the supper and he said this cup is the new cup in my body in my blood do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord but let a man do what examine himself clean out the leaven get the leaven out and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup for he who eats and drinks eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly now what does that mean for this reason many among you are weak and sick and numb or sick but if we judge ourselves rightly who do we judge I say who do we judge if we judge ourselves rightly now notice this if we judge ourselves rightly what happens we won't be judged how many of you see that we won't be judged but verse 32 when we are judged we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world when we come to the Lord's table we are to judge our heart before God clean out all of the leaven and not try to justify our sin for our sin I may purge you I want you to see something remember when he told them to leave when they left Egypt for you to love the Lord God with all your heart is that what he told them do we do this in remembrance of that covenant is that what he said ratified by Jesus in His blood and we are to judge ourselves and we are not to justify ourselves is that right in Luke chapter 10 notice with me verse 25 and behold a certain lawyer stood up and put him to the test saying teacher what shall I do to inherit eternal life and he said to him what is written in the law how does it read to you and he answered and said you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your strength with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself and Jesus said to him you have but wish may I show you somebody who did just the opposite of this you see this man gets condemned he won't give all there's a man in Luke chapter 23 he's called a thief may I show you how the thief got to heaven he didn't get to heaven simply because he said Lord please remember me this day when you come into your kingdom that's not how he got to heaven at all notice how he got to heaven Luke chapter 23 verse 39 Jesus is being crucified and one of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at him how many of the criminals one of the criminals was hurling abuse at him saying are you not the Christ save yourself and us verse 40 but the other the other answered now let me ask you a question is the first one justifying himself is he judging himself absolutely not look at the next one but the other verse 40 answered and rebuking him said do you not even fear God he had the fear of God before his eyes since you are under the same sentence of condemnation and we indeed justly for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds but this man has done nothing wrong and he was saying Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom and he said to him truly I say to you today you shall be with me because where I am Jesus said do this a dwelling place