Not on Tablets of Stone but on Tablets of Flesh

(25) Roc Corbett - Not on Tablets of Stone, But on Tablets of Flesh - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U64VH2hkf8

Transcript:
(00:00) jesus said in Matthew 24 that a faithful servant would give food in due season in the master's household and here you are the master's household so today I want to share with you some things that I think are very important as we begin to prepare for the days of unleven bread and Passover coming up so very soon now these last few weeks before the Passover is a time of preparation for us all there's some really important spiritual truths for us to consider about our calling and our relationship with God with Jesus Christ and with each
(00:40) other as well some of the food in due season is what the scriptures refer to as the sincere milk of the word which we are told to desire so that we may grow thereby and I want to bring some of that today to you as well as some of the solid food of God's word there's a progression that we can trace through and and sometimes it flows from the the beginnings of the revelation that Jesus Christ has given to us to the ultimate fulfillment and so along the way we can see that progression of understanding that is there in the scriptures it's
(01:17) very important especially for the young people and for those who are newly being called to see and hear that milk of the word but it's also important for all of us to see that the solid food that comes with a fuller understanding remember the story of Christ bringing Israel out of Egypt i'm sure you do in 1 Corinthians and I'm not just referring to this 1 Corinthians 10 verse 1-4 it clearly states there that it was Christ who was with them leading them following them who baptized them fed them and gave them water to drink so
(01:59) he was there as their leaders bringing them out it says that rock was Christ a very clear statement which we really appreciate knowing that because in the scriptures some of the words of God the names are alohim and sometimes it's Yave or YHWH and so we read these in the same context back and forth and just to be clear I'm presenting the message today with the understanding from scripture that we're speaking of Christ leading his people out of Egypt there are numerous scriptures that let us know that God the Father was
(02:41) involved in these great events as well but for most part the active role is that of Christ and for a good reason which we'll see later on in the message it's certainly a very big story from a beginning point leads us to a midpoint and then ultimately to another place that Christ is leading us and ultimately brethren is a story about Christ and what he is doing in our lives today so let's begin with a time when he had just brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and now they had arrived at Mount Si he called Moses up to the
(03:21) mountain and first he told them what he had done for them already this is interesting and I've written in my notes so that I have the scriptures here to save a little time story so big that there's quite a lot to cover and I want to make sure we can stay in the time but I'll mention the verses you can jot them down open your Bible and read them along with me in Exodus 19 verse 3-5 Exodus 19 beginning in verse three he told them what he had done already and I love the way he says this and Moses went up to God the word is Elohim
(04:03) and the Lord Y H VH called to him from the mountain saying "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob and tell the children of Israel you have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself." Now that is really a great way to summarize the events when I was preparing for this message I started way back in the book of Exodus the first chapter and I started listing down important things and it got to be so dense as I call it so many points that you just don't want to leave out and I
(04:45) thought well I have to make a handout to give to them and I started the handout and I got and I couldn't put it all on a single page just to lead up to this point so I'm doing what Christ showed in the word i'm going to follow his example and say you remember he brought us out on eagle's wings that covers all those preliminary things and we can start there with him bringing Moses up at Mount Si i love that example and try to follow it through the course today we're just going to focus on a few details today because we see some very important
(05:23) things develop and it's toward the end of the story that he reveals the spiritual meat of the word that will become our focus today so today it's a pre-passover message it's helping me i hope it helps you to prepare it's my hope that it will strengthen our faith and the awesome work that God and Christ are doing in our own lives the pass the Passover focus will come later in the message first we need the foundation upon which the greater spiritual truth is built we need to know what happened at Mount Si in order to more fully
(06:06) comprehend what Christ is doing in our own lives today and it really does matter so here's our starting point some of the details that happened at Mount Si christ called Moses up to the mountain and gave him something there do you remember what he gave two tablets of stone we see that in Exodus 24 and verse 12 exodus 24:12 then the Lord said to Moses "Come up to me on the mountain and be there and I will give you tablets of stone and the law and commandments which I have written that you may teach them very important things he was going to give
(06:58) them it would be something very special and we'll see that develop as we read a little bit further but this is our focus today those two tablets of stone and some of the details related to that event and ultimately where that leads and the lessons that God wants us to know too it's so important brethren that we understand some of these basic things about the tablets of stone was such an important thing that God did when he gave those to Moses in Exodus 31 and verse 18 we're just going to advance through the story and pick this flow up
(07:41) in Exodus 31:18 he says "And when he had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Si he gave Moses two tablets of the testimony." Again it mentions they were tablets of stone written with a finger of God now these are very special god himself had written those words on those stones he probably carved those stones out of the the mountain they're very special they meant so much they still do what a precious gift that was tablets of stone that God had engraved with his own finger and many of you are skilled in making things and doing things and
(08:27) you know what it takes to create something beautiful functional permanent something that will be appreciated by many others and will convey great messages to them god was giving this very special gift in Exodus 32 in verse 15 and 16 we read in Exodus 32:15 "And Moses turned and went down from the mountain and the two tablets of the testimony were in his hand you imagine him walking down.
(09:01) " He'd been 40 days and 40 nights up there walking down with these precious two tablets of stone that God had given to him the tablets were written on both sides on the one side and on the other they were written now the tablets were the work of God that's verse 16 notice that the tablets were the work of God and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets you can't get very much higher than that and if you can't get any higher than that in a work being produced and being given to humanity the work of God just think of that something to hold
(09:51) in your hand that God had made and his own work in my background I'm an artist i was blessed to be able to uh to work as a professional artist for 35 years and I know the process of creating physical things i know the inspiration sometimes that God gives for those things i know the work that it needs to be uh put into it and works of art are indeed works and God was the one who worked that and made those tablets in verse 19 as the story advances Moses broke those first two tablets that had to be a very emotional
(10:39) moment it had to be it says "So it was as soon as he came near the camp that he saw the calf and it's dancing." You know the rest of that story so Moses' anger became hot and he cast the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain big moment and then what then what exodus 34 in verse one and the Lord said to Moses "Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke.
(11:22) " So now Moses has to cut those stones and he knew what they looked like in the size and the thickness he knew the dimensions he had to cut those this was down in the valley it wasn't up on the mountain he he probably even had helpers with this bring these tools help me with this he had to do that work though and make those blank tablets and take them back up the mountain he had to cut those tablets and God would do the writing it would be his words written on those tablets and verse 10 shows that the writing was the word of a covenant such
(12:00) an important element in the message today covenant was being made and he said in verse 10 "Behold I make a covenant before all your people." And I want you to really pay attention to these next few couple phrases he said "I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth nor in any nation.
(12:29) " Think of this he just so recently brought them out of Egypt he just so recently parted the Red Sea and they walked through it on dry land and he's telling Moses "I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth nor in any nation." Brethren he's telling Moses there's more to come that was just the beginning of this display of his power and all the people among whom you are you are shall see the work of the Lord and he says "For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you.
(13:06) " I'm going to refer to that phrase two or three more times in this message but I really want you to focus on it something more was to come it wasn't just for those moments there when they were at the foot of Mount Si when Moses was up on the top with the Lord god was going to continue to do awesome things he said he would do such things has never been done the parting of the Red Sea as I mentioned all those things and he summarized it all by saying "I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you here." You could taking them somewhere
(13:45) even greater do you think Do you think that the Lord has done any of those awesome things since then that he said he would think about that if you were to make a list of things more awesome than the parting of the Red Sea which would be the work of the Lord what would you put on your list something really to think about brethren it is is the marvelous and awesome things that Christ said he would do that apply so very much to us today especially as we prepare for Passover he's not even close to being done in Exodus
(14:41) 34 verse 27 and 28 exodus 24:27 excuse me Exodus 34 verse 27 and 28 we see that Moses also wrote and so we have his words that were written by Moses those first five books of the Bible and Christ himself referred back to them many time it is written and he referred to those words of Moses moses wrote those words too on vellum or parchment something that would survive long enough to be translated onto other parchments or vellum and passed down to us today in the printed form in his word it is written those were God's word that
(15:26) Moses wrote but then it says 'The Lord said to Moses write these words for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel these words matter because it's a covenant with Moses and with Israel and so he was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights he neither ate bread nor drank water and he God Christ wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant the ten commandments again such a precious thing that he wrote his words his testimony his law his commandments his covenant this is what those words on the
(16:18) tablets were and then something else comes into the picture something that has meaning in our lives now in Exodus 34 verses 29-32 now this is something for us to think about it applies to us you'll see this later it's very clearly shown in scripture to apply to us moses' face shone it's like a light emanating from him from the face of Moses it says "Now it was so when Moses came down from Mount Si and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the mountain that Moses did not know that the skin of his face
(17:08) shone while he talked with them he was looking from behind his eyes forward he didn't see what they were seeing as they looked back at him and seeing his face shining so when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses behold the skin of his face shone and they were afraid to come near him you can imagine what that might be if you saw something like that yourself and then Moses called to them and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him and Moses talked with them he gave them those words of the Lord and
(17:46) afterward it says all the children of Israel came near and he gave them as commandments all that the Lord has spoken with him in Mount Si you can read those chapters in Exodus that covers those many different things that Christ gave to Moses on Mount Si in verse 33 and when Moses had finished speaking with them he put a veil on his face he covered his face so they was not just letting that light shine through these are important details as we prepare for Passover this year think about this the shining face of Moses and the
(18:31) veil meant something and we'll see later how this applies to us and what it does mean verse 34 but whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him he would take the veil off until he came out so in the presence of the Lord when he's there praying he would take that veil off and when he came out he would put the veil on whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses the skin of Moses' face shown and that Moses would put the veil on his face until he went in to speak with him what effect would that veil have
(19:16) had it shielded the people from the brightness of his face from that light emanating from him but it also covered their understanding of the words and of the covenant itself the people could not see the glory of those words or of the covenant or the relationship they could not comprehend the fullness of the relationship between Moses and God or between God and themselves or in the importance of the words written and the words that Moses spoke to them they could see and hear a little but they didn't comprehend the
(20:04) fullness so brethren all of these things are symbolic they flow from this part of the scriptures into further and distant from that times in the history of man they flow all the way down to our time as well the tablets of stone very symbolic element the words written by the finger of God even those words are symbolic permanent and true and ever will be but there was greater fulfillment to be shown to God's people later christ himself said that would be more marvelous things to come the work of God that work of God is
(21:00) symbolic and God is still working his law his ten commandments his testimony God's covenant all of these things brethren are symbolic and they help us the more we learn about them this milk of the word to understand and fully comprehend the meat of the meaning of all of these things even the spiritual and miraculous words and works of the Lord even those had greater meaning yet to come and thus we're symbolic not to be discounted or discarded but to deepen our understanding as we learn more his words and his work were spiritual and they
(21:51) still are and yes they are there for every Christian to know and to believe but Christ said there would be something greater to come the things that Christ had done were just the beginning of what he would do for them and we see this through the prophecies you know so very well that Christ our Passover was slain for us you know slain from the foundation of the world you know these things you know that there was something greater than the physical nation of Israel being brought out and made to be a physical entity in the land of Canaan there was
(22:34) something greater to come was such significance given to these things in the writings of Moses and these things are referred to so many times even the words tablet more than two dozen times in the writings of Moses they're very important things what else does God teach us about the meaning of these symbolic elements and that more powerful spiritual truth yet to come and how does Christ lead us onward to something so much more glorious and I'm using words from scripture more glorious where do you think the lessons
(23:15) of scripture go from here these are things that God made clearer as he continued working and hundreds of years later you can read in Jeremiah 31 and verse 31 we'll begin very familiar words about these things that had happened and about what was yet to come in Jeremiah 31 31 the Lord promised that he would make a new covenant he says "Behold the days are coming says the Lord when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
(24:00) " That first covenant was made there with them at Mount Si and it was a marriage covenant it's when Christ got married to Israel of old you see that in the same passage he said "I will make a a new covenant with the house of Israel with the house of Judah." A new covenant a different covenant a better covenant in our minds and in our hearts let's continue reading verse 33 i'm going to open my scriptures here and read this because I want to see it in the full context of these three verses i'm going to start again in Matthew in Jeremiah 31:31 behold the days are
(24:51) coming do you think they're here now do you think we're in this time that is prophesied of course we are says the Lord when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel with the house of Judah not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt see that puts us in the context even though when they were at Mount Si it wasn't the time of Passover it begins to connect in the scripture with Passover it begins to show this
(25:28) covenant and how and when it would be made he says "My covenant which they broke through though I was a husband to them." This is why it's so important to understand there was Christ who was working with them he was the one married to them and it was at Mount Si when that occurred when that covenant was made says the Lord but this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days says the Lord i will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts and I will be their God they shall be my people
(26:08) so we begin to see and I know you're thinking this it's great and okay that you're thinking ahead what this means because you know and it deepens your understanding and there's still little details we can pick up those that first words of the covenant were on tablets of stone where was he talking about those words being placed now in our minds on our hearts which is spiritually more powerful and permanent it's what's inside it's what comes inside and this is where we're going for brethren with this this message in verse 33 continuing I will put my law
(27:04) in their minds and write it on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people so who writes it god where on our hearts this work of God brethren is amazing the miracles to do this to write this covenant in our minds on our hearts the spiritual work to do this is more powerful and more permanent than the parting of the Red Sea for every single one of us and God calls and is baptized and we become part of the covenant people in that way and we receive his spirit it each one of you has experienced something so
(28:10) marvelous as Christ said it would be more than what happened when he brought Israel out of Egypt he is doing this greater work and the more we understand this the more we'll be able to comprehend Passover and the depth of the meaning that is there the tablets of stone what did they represent god's true word his law which is endures forever all of these things about him those are so permanent so good so spiritual but it was on a physical piece of stone and Moses showed that stone could be broken he he cast it from him those
(29:01) first two and they were broken and new ones were made but it's in our heart where something permanent and lasting beyond the physical is being developed through the work of God let's analyze this just a little bit look in Ezekiel 11 and I think you'll see this we're beginning to phase now from that milk to something more substantial ultimately to that solid food that is coming ezekiel 11 verse 19 and 20 says "Then I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them and take the stony heart out of their
(29:49) flesh and give them a heart of flesh." This takes miracles spiritual miracles of God and of Christ both of them working in our own lives one of the pieces of the puzzle is right here showing the meaning of those tablets says in verse 20 "That they may walk in my statutes and keep my judgments and do them and they shall be my people and I will be their God.
(30:27) " God says that he would give them what is needed to even desire to learn and to live by his law his covenant with them and in them brethren we must have something given to us so that we can desire these things to follow him comes with what he describes as a heart of flesh a softness that he can mold something willing to yield to him not a hard and stony heart but something soft and pliable place for his spirit to dwell in in us in Ezekiel 18 verse 31 we pick this up it's interesting as you follow this thread of of revelation through the scriptures you see it deepening and
(31:21) advancing in Ezekiel 18:31 he says "Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed and get yourself a new heart and a new spirit." Doesn't this sound like what we go through every year when we keep the Passover it says to examine ourselves and then what this is the action that we take we cast away from ourselves the transgressions we say "Father forgive me for I've sinned against you against my brother against my Lord against myself father forgive me let that blood of Christ which represents his covenant let
(32:17) that pay the penalty for my sins cast them away from what you have committed and get yourself a new heart and a new spirit for why should you die oh house of Israel the penalty for sin is death it says it in this same chapter in verse 4 and verse 20 the soul that sins it shall die why should we die the choice is live cast away those things let that covenant be written in our hearts and on our minds and we can do this we see it in his word it's a different way of looking at repentance if you will of putting off
(33:06) the old man we're at that stage of year the leavenvening coming out of us putting it off getting a new heart bringing in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth we have to be involved you see that in this verse get yourself a new heart where and how do we do that that's part of what Christ is doing how do these things connect with the tablets of stone in God's work i think it becomes more and more obvious as we put these things together in Ezekiel 36 verse 26 and 27 we see where it comes from we see it's not something that we can do on our
(33:57) own at all in Ezekiel 20 36 26 says I will give you a new heart it comes from the Lord i will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you did this happen at Mount Si no they had the tablets of stone they had those wonderful true and perfect and everlasting words but they didn't have a new heart or a new spirit that's a greater work that's being done now this is prophetic of what would happen and is now happening he says,"I will take away i will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of
(34:47) flesh." It takes God's work in us too we have to yield to it but he is the one who does the work where the tablets then of our heart become prepared to receive his word said "I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them i will," he says when does this happen for us when does this gift be when does it come to us and has it happened already for you and for me comes from him brethren we read so early at Mount Si was those stone tablets were the work of
(35:38) God now we're talking about the work of God that is in the hearts of flesh with a new spirit it's God's work he made those stone tablets and now he's giving us a new heart and a new spirit brethren if we see and notice and believe that his work is happening in our own lives but whatever stage we are in our own personal journey the very new the very young the very old all of us we see that work of God where he is doing that work the promise still stood for what was written he said he would do marvels such as not
(36:27) have been done in the earth nor in any nation he's doing that in your life and we need to see and appreciate that realize the power he's putting into our own salvation jot down Psalm 51 you can read it such a wonderful psalm of repentance especially for us to think of this time of year wanted to just reference verse 10 and 11 david there is writings with such an open heart such a desire to receive what he had cast away from himself and now needed again you know Moses cast away those stones and broke them and David had cast
(37:20) away some very precious things and he's asking to be restored and he said in verse 10 create in me a clean heart oh God what a great prayer this time of year for me and for you and renew a steadfast spirit within me he said 'Do not cast me away from your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from me but that's where the covenant would be seated in our own minds to realize brethren over and over in many ways that it is God's work that he would take away that stony heart from us he said he would and he is it's an amazing thing
(38:09) it's really an amazing and powerful spiritual miracle what about the words think of the symbols that were there you can think can the words of God be symbols of Ten Commandments can they are they symbols yes and those symbols remain true and right and forever but is written by his own finger and it's the covenant that he's talking about but he's talking also of a deepening covenant that will go much further with us with when it's written on the tablets of our heart begins to lead us in the season of Passover to bringing us into
(38:51) the picture more fully you and me and all of God's people in Matthew 26 let's advance now this solid food begins to come on the table beginning of the new covenant is being talked about here the time of Passover and so it connects us in with this we know that there are many more details but let's keep our focus on this point today the making of the new covenant and where it would be made in Matthew 26 and verse 26 says "And then as they were eating Jesus took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to his disciples
(39:34) and said take eat this is my body." In verse 27 and 28 and I will turn there with you matthew 26 now verse 27 then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying "Drink from it all of you." You know you think about the tablets of stone there was one set of them that was broken one more set was made and the words were shared with all the people and was then put in the ark of the covenant to be preserved there for them one set of stones there what is this drink from it all of you now he's going to be writing on more
(40:38) than one set of tablets on everyone who would be his chosen people he said 'For this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins those words written on those first tablets defined sin and we see in the scriptures where I would not have known sin except the commandment except the law this is for the remission of sins that law still stands but now it's for the remission of our sins so that we can have a covenant relationship with Christ in verse 28 he says "For this is my blood of the
(41:24) new covenant." What's happening in your life is a new covenant is so important so great we see here the pinpointing of the time when Jesus would begin fulfilling what had been written by the prophets of old first by Moses then by many others especially Jeremiah Ezekiel and others as well how could this be that Christ's blood would be the symbol for the new covenant we know this but now we get deeper and more fully engaged in this wonderful truth of the power of this new covenant in John 1 and verse one says "In the beginning was the
(42:20) word and the word was with God the word was God." You know when we talk about my blood of the new covenant we're talking about the word who was with God and who was God we're talking about the same deity who called Moses up to the mountain and gave him those original stone tablets and now he's making a new covenant and the blood is a symbol of that covenant he came in the flesh it says in John 1 and verse 14 and the word became flesh and dwelt among us he gives us a heart of flesh he had a heart of flesh too he gives us a heart of flesh and he
(43:17) dwelt among us and we beheld his glory i'm going to phase into that veil you know that Moses put on his face before he had that veil on his face was emanating with his light and there was a glory that was there and it was from God and was reflected off Moses' face we beheld his glory we can see in the scriptures the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ we see Jesus we look on his faces as we see this kind of glory we know it's there and though we don't see it in the visual effects of our eyes we see it in the spirit and the word that guides us to
(44:00) understand the glory the glorious of the only begotten of the father full of grace and truth he lived he taught God's word he set an example and by his blood established the new covenant we advance then in the story to Hebrews chapter 8 here we have a summary and I've mentioned several different symbolic elements and in the book of Hebrews it brings these into context and it shows us then some of the spiritual understanding of these things and the significance that it is for us in Hebrews 8 and verse 6 but now he
(44:46) speaking of Christ has obtained a more excellent ministry than Moses you read the verses right above that a more excellent ministry than Moses and what happened with Moses and during his lifetime and at Mount Si and before and after that all those amazing things Christ's ministry is more excellent than Moses in as much as he is also mediator of a better covenant which was established on better promises if you want to have a deep and rewarding and edifying and faithbuing study on your own look into those better
(45:34) promises of the new covenant and you see there the work of our father and of Jesus Christ bringing us into their family those better promises are so very very important they all come to a focus at the time of Passover look I'll give you a way I study for instance Christ said it was his blood of the new covenant so if you want to study what these better promises are look and see what comes to us through the blood of Christ by the blood of Christ in the blood of Christ look those phrases up and see what those better promises are
(46:21) and that's what the new covenant is established on it's amazing when you see that and it really deepens our understanding in verse 7-9 he says "For if that first covenant had been faultless then no place would have been sought for a second there was something better to come because finding fault with them and we could all say scripture tells us we all stumble we all have our own faults we all sin paul one of the great apostles admitted that clearly in the scriptures is there for us to see but it's always there too that we can come and say
(47:07) "Father forgive me help me to come back to a full relationship with you." He found fault with them but he says "Behold the days are coming says the Lord when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel with the house of Judah." Now don't think of these things as just repetition from what we read in Jeremiah yes it's quoting that but Jeremiah was inspired to write about what the Messiah would do now in the book of Hebrews he had come he had done those things and now this is evidence in scripture of the fulfilling of those
(47:43) promises it's such a powerful thing and yes it repeats the words but it does it with the emphasis that this is now what's happening this is now where we are in this journey toward the kingdom of God not according to the covenant that I made with our fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt see why it's important brethren that we study that milk of the word because here when we get to the meat it's still referring to that and we need to know and have those things as
(48:17) Christ said I led I I bore you on eagle's wings he's brought us through that we can read these things and understand the fullness of that history and know that it's true because they did not continue in my covenant and I disregarded them says the Lord for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days says the Lord i will put my laws in their mind and write them on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people when does that happen for us it happens at baptism it's renewed in our hearts and
(49:01) minds every year when we partake of the Passover again because that is a time when we partake of that symbol of the covenant which is his blood in verse 11 it says,"None of them shall teach his neighbor and none his brother saying ' know the Lord for all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest.
(49:26) " You know what that tells us brethren there's more to come there are more marvelous things to come because you look at these people driving by out here they're not understanding this right now they don't know what you are blessed to know there's going to come a time and the scripture says it in the Old and the New Testament right here we see they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them and on the Sabbath days then there would be many congregations in every town and there would be people reading his word and
(50:02) hearing and learning all of that there's so much more to come to this new covenant and the great and awesome power of God and of Christ to bringing many sons and daughters to glory that's what this is about the power of God in our lives he says "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their lawless deeds i will remember no more.
(50:31) " That takes the blood of Christ that's where this comes in he can forget our sins and our lawless deeds because Christ's blood has cleansed us the Passover then is the commemoration of that every year in that he says a new covenant he has made the first obsolete so much we can still learn from it but now we go on to this better covenant and the promises on which it is established now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away we worship today as we see in the new covenant pattern of Passover we're going to phase then into
(51:21) this how can we know that these things are being written on our hearts how much is there already this becomes very personal we answer these questions in our own personal private meditations and prayer we're all on different parts of our journey we all have things we're struggling to overcome we're all have things that we're so grateful to have and be blessed to understand what are the words that he is writing and is there any evidence of this in our lives we are told to examine ourselves you know this we we talk about this
(52:08) every year i'm trying to show a different way of looking at that a way of seeing something more deeply inside than just our faults but see also the good things that is being written in there for us already i want you to turn please and really meditate on these things not just from the hearing of this message but maybe jot this passage down and meditate on it in your private time at home in 2 Corinthians 3 verse 3 verse 2-3 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 2 here Paul is writing to congregation he came and went through many different
(53:07) travels around and he's been to Corenth and writing to them again and was one of the major hubs of his ministry And he said to them this is the Apostle Paul saying to the members there in Corenth something so wonderful something so meaningful you see his heart toward them you are our epistle written in our hearts known and read by all men he was so thankful for them and blessed to know them if his work as a man who was serving God was to have any benefit that would last it would be what would be produced by God's work the things that he could
(54:04) preach God's word to them and their response to the Lord and to God the lasting work would be the fruit in their lives the spiritual fruit and he said they had it and he said "You are our epistle written in our hearts known and read by all men." Known and read by all men their example was evident people could see that their lives were different than they had been and better they could see this verse three is like the key verse of my whole sermon today right here it's building to this all the examples all the the symbols all the
(54:56) history the promises it comes to this you are manifestly an epistle of Christ you he's talking to all the members of Corinth and he says they are each one all together you are manifestly an epistle of Christ ministered by us you know he served them but it was through God in Christ that they were helped in a spiritual way look at this written not with ink but with the spirit of the living God not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh that is of the heart brethren do you see that all those symbolic things that were so
(55:56) powerful and meaningful and now he's saying you brethren you are an epistle of Christ and he has written his words in your heart on your mind it's his work in your life it's something so very precious it's something more precious than those stone tablets it's a work of God in a very very spiritual way and this elevates it to a very high level doesn't it to see the symbolism that comes this far that Christ is writing his covenant on our hearts this is so important for us to the world and to Jesus Christ and God our father it's one of the greatest
(56:54) spiritual understandings we can have and it focuses on Passover the spiritual fulfillment of the symbolism that was inspired so long ago we talked about that veil i want to finish with this i don't want to slide down the hill a little bit from what we just read i want to keep there that God and Christ are working in our hearts but now look the expectation is that with their work in our hearts something else would be evident and that is what we read beginning in verse 7 but if the ministry of death written and engraved on stones was glorious we
(57:46) could look and say yes all of that history of Moses what a glorious thing it was that was being done it was God's own work so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance which glory was passing away it would fade over time after he hadn't been there in the presence of God for a while but notice in the New Testament here it's talking about that symbol of the glory of the light that was shining from Moses' face it says "How will the ministry of the
(58:25) spirit not be more glorious?" There's something more glorious than that brethren if Moses were to walk in here now and his face shining we would all be amazed wouldn't we something more glorious than that is happening for if the ministry of condemnation had glory the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory there's a glory in your calling and we need to see that and God expects that light to shine for even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect because of the glory that excels there's
(59:10) something greater christ said there would be he would do marvels that had not been done anywhere on earth look at his work here for if what is passing away was glorious what remains is much more glorious therefore since we have such hope we use great boldness of speech this is going to say now how do we apply this unlike Moses who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away but their minds were hardened for until this day the same veil remains unlifted on the
(59:54) reading of the Old Testament and there are people who don't understand what we do but we understand it and it makes something different in us because the veil is taken away in Christ that veil is on the word so we can understand it but it's something else with this too but even to this day when Moses is read a veil lies on their heart nevertheless now brings it into our context when one turns to the Lord the veil is taken away we can understand now the Lord is in spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is there is
(1:00:41) liberty verse 18 you want something to work on look at verse 18 but we all with unveiled face it's like our face was the one that had the veil on it with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord his light shining to us and in us and then reflecting out from us we are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as by the spirit of the Lord brethren your example means so much to other people and to God to let that glory in your life the calling he's given to you that spirit that he's put
(1:01:35) in you the word that's written in your heart all those things let that light shine let it be something that we see when we keep Passover it says "For when as often as we eat and drink this eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim the Lord's death." Moses was proclaiming the word of the Lord and we're proclaiming this new covenant aspect and it should be with shining face and it should be that something is evident to those around us paul wrote to the Corin Corinthians "You are manifestly an epistle of Christ." It's
(1:02:21) evident it's clearly seen people know that there is something written not on tables of stone but on tablets of the flesh god is working in your life and brethren what a great blessing that is to be part of his marvelous work be partakers of the new covenant it's a really important and great thing that he's doing in us as we prepare for Passover let's keep some of this milk of the word and the meat that flows from it keep it in our hearts and on our minds and so that we can make our way more clearly to the destination that Jesus
(1:03:13) Christ is leading us to the kingdom of God