You know, the chorus to that
song, living, he loved me. Dying, he saved me. Buried, he carried my sins far
away. Rising, he justified. Freely, forever, one day he's
coming. O glorious day. You know, that
would be meaningless if Some of those people that he loved,
lived for, and died for ended up in hell. But thank God not
one of them will. There will not be one person
in hell that he lived for, and loved, and died for, and was
raised from the dead for. What a glorious gospel that is. Would you turn back to Matthew
chapter 13, I wanted to try to bring a message surrounded around
first the word of God and our thoughts of the new year. I've
entitled this message, Things Old and New. New Year's Eve is
certainly a time of reflection for anybody who thinks. I know
you would agree with that. Out with the old year, in with
the new year. Time, made of seconds and minutes,
hours, days, weeks, years, time. Time had a starting point. There was a time when there was
the first second ticked. Before time, there was eternity. No past, no future, the eternal present. In Revelation chapter 10 verse
6 speaks of time being no longer. Conscious eternal existence. And how we leave time is how
we will spend eternity. I want to read a verse of scripture
from Revelation chapter 22, verse 11. This is the last chapter
in the Bible. John says, he that is unjust,
let him be unjust still, forever, for eternity. He which is filthy, let him be filthy still. When
he dies, how he dies, That is how he will spend eternity. And
he that is righteous, that describes every believer.
Let him be righteous still throughout eternity. And he that is holy,
that describes every believer. Let him be holy still. In Matthew chapter 13, the Lord
is concluding those seven parables he gave to the multitudes. The parable of the sower and
the four different soils. Remember, only one soil was good.
The parable of the wheat and the tares, how we're told to
let the wheat and the tares to grow together. Nobody has enough
sense to be able to tare out the tares and know the difference
between the tares and the wheat. He says, let them both grow together.
That's such wisdom. If I tried to root out the tares,
I would root out the wheat and the tares would be left behind.
That's the sin to you and I have. The Lord tells us not to do it. We have the parable of the mustard
seed, the growth of the kingdom of heaven. We have the parable
of the leaven. the workings of God's grace.
We have the parable of the treasure hid in a field, Christ hid in
his word. We have the parable of the one
pearl of great price, the Lord Jesus Christ. When you find the
one pearl, you quit seeking pearls, plural. And then we have the
parable of the net thrown into the ocean and bringing in Good
fish and bad fish. I love the way gospel preaching
is not like fishing with bait, where you cover the hook to fool
the fish. You throw the net out. It brings
in good fish and bad fish. And in the end, the angels will
throw and cast the bad away and bring the good in. And then he
says, after these parables, verse 51, Jesus saith unto them, have
you understood, have you understood all these
things? Well, we've understood if he
has opened our understanding, that we might understand the
scriptures. If he opens my understanding,
I've understood. Knowledge without understanding
is useless knowledge. What do I mean by that? Well,
let me give you one real simple illustration. It's one thing
to know that the Bible teaches that there's none righteous,
no, not one. There it is, black and white.
That's what the Bible says. It's another thing to understand
that that's me. Big difference. Their answer in verse 51. Yay, Lord. You know, I've understood
those parables by the grace of God, by the teaching of God,
the Holy Spirit. I've understood those parables.
I can say with the disciples, yea Lord. You see, if you understand
it's because he's taught you. Look in verse 10 of this same
chapter. And the disciples came and said
unto him, why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered
and said unto them, because it's given unto you. to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. If you understand,
it's because he's given that understanding to you. That's
the only reason you understand. This is not something just intellectually
grasped and comprehended. This is the Lord being your teacher. If you understand, He's taught
you. They shall all be taught of God. Every man, therefore,
that hath heard and learned of the Father cometh unto me. Yeah, Lord, we've understood.
Yeah, there's a reason. He's taught you. What a amazing
thing that the Lord has taught me His gospel. And I wouldn't understand had
he not taught me. Yea, Lord. Verse 52. Then said he unto them,
therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom
of heaven. Now the word instructed is literally
discipled. And it is in the passive voice,
you've been discipled by the Lord. That's why you're a disciple.
You've been discipled. You've been instructed. And here
is the evidence of being instructed by him. Every disciple, every scribe,
which is instructed under the kingdom of heaven, that Somebody
says, well, is that the preacher? Well, I guess it could be, but
I think it's every believer because every believer has been discipled.
Go and make disciples of every nation. Every believer is a disciple. Every believer is like a scribe
instructed in the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, every scribe
which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto
a man that is an householder which bringeth forth out of his
treasure things new and old. A householder, a master of the
house. And he has been given this treasure. Paul said, we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Aren't you
painfully aware of that? We have this treasure in jars
of clay. What treasure? Well, he said
in the previous verse in verse six, 2 Corinthians chapter four,
for God who commanded the light to shine out of the darkness
has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We have this
treasure. That's the treasure he's speaking
of. And we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Now this man that's been instructed
in the kingdom of heaven brings out of this treasure things new
and New and old. I know the wise man tells us
that there is nothing new under the sun. Remember Solomon saying
that in the book of Ecclesiastes? There's nothing new under the
sun. It was true when Solomon wrote
it, and it's still true. The thing which hath been, it
is that which shall be. And that which is done is that
which shall be done. And there's no new thing under
the sun. You know, sometimes men think
I've come up with something new. No, you haven't. You're just
recirculating an old error. You just don't know it yet. There's
nothing new under the sun. That which hath been is now,
and that which is to be hath already been. And it's equally
true that which is done in time, especially with regard to salvation
was done in eternity. Do you believe that? Hebrews chapter four, verse three
says, all the works were finished from the foundation
of the world. Beloved, if you're saved. You were saved already before
time began. That's what the Bible teaches.
Second Timothy 1.9 says, he saved us and he called us with a holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began. The saving came before the calling.
He saved us and he called us. Christ is called in Revelation
chapter 13, verse eight, the lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. Hence, we read in the scriptures
of eternal salvation that is not bound by time. We read of eternal redemption,
eternal judgment, and internal inheritance, the everlasting,
the eternal gospel. So when we're talking about things
old and new, remember, let's talk about things in time. The
gospel is eternal as God is eternal. And one of the glorious things
about the gospel, which is older than time, it's always good news. It's not old news. You know,
ever since I quit getting a newspaper, boy, it's rough. I like reading
the newspaper. I hate looking at a screen. I
did it for decades. Get up in the morning, read the
newspaper. But now, I have to look on my phone. And by the
time the morning arrives, All the news is old. I've already
looked at it on my phone. I never get to look at anything
fresh or new anymore when it comes to news. Every couple hours,
I look at my phone to see what the latest news is. So when I
get up in the morning, I don't have a paper and the news is
already old. The gospel's not like that. The
gospel is always news. Not old news. Old news isn't
news, is it? It's old. The gospel is news. His mercies are new every morning. The gospel is not like the number one song that's new. It
gets old, doesn't it? I've never heard a song I'm not talking about a gospel
song. I'm talking about any number
one song that I loved, I get sick of it. I don't want to hear
it anymore. It grates on my nerves. At one
time, it was great, best thing I've ever heard. Now, it's old. The gospel's never
like that. The gospel is news. Now the scribe instructed, brings
out of his treasure things new and old. Things old. Where the new is, the old is
seen. And not until then. The Old Testament. And that doesn't
mean Genesis through Malachi. The New Testament is on every
page of the Old Testament. And I don't understand the Old
Testament until I see the New Testament in every page. But if I don't see the new in
the old, I'm one of those people that Paul described in 2 Corinthians
3.14 who are blinded and the veil is over their eyes in the
reading of the Old Testament. Remember that passage in 2 Corinthians
3, 14? Until this very day, Paul says
they're blinded and the veil is over their eye when they read
the Old Testament. The Lord said in John 5, verse
39, with regard to the Old Testament scriptures, they are they which
testify of me. Every single one of them. When the new is understood in
the old, we're experiencing the newness of the spirit and not
the oldness of the letter. Now, let me give you an example
of what I'm talking about from the scripture. When the Lord
gave the Sermon on the Mount three times, he said, you've
heard it. been said of them of old." You
know what happens next? The quotation of an Old Testament
scripture and then he follows that with,
but I say unto you, I am the only one who determines
what that scripture means. It means what I say it means. Now that's authority. He took
the scriptures, God's holy word, and he quoted them. You've heard
it said in the commandment regarding murder, the commandment guarding
adultery, He quoted Old Testament scripture. You've heard it said
by them of old, but I say unto you, it means what I say it means. Not the letter, but the spirit. What I say it means. I am the one who gives the meaning. Now it is only when we see the
new covenant of grace that the old waxes old and decays and
is ready to vanish away. That's what the scripture says.
Now, to have a new man, It makes me see the
old man for what it is. Not until then. Paul says it's
corrupt, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful
lust. It's only the new man that can
see that. The new man. He first mentions
new. Notice he doesn't mention old
first, he mentions new first. And the old really is not seen
until the new is experienced and seen. New means recent, unprecedented,
that which was not there before. The New Testament is older than
the Old Testament, isn't it? The New Testament is eternal.
It never had a beginning. Paul said, we look not at things
which are seen, but things which are not seen. For the things
which are seen are temporal, temporary, things of time. The things which are not seen
are eternal. The gospel, the good news, it
is new. That's how you hear it when you
hear it. When you hear the gospel as a sinner, It's like it's the
first time you've ever heard it. It's that new, it's that
powerful, it's that fresh. When you hear as a sinner, now
when you hear as a judge or a critic, it's old, dry, but oh, when you
hear as a sinner, it comes as new. Now what I would like to
do is think about this concept of new in the scripture. And I pray that the Lord will
cause new things to be brought out of this treasure. And these
new things are eternal. They're not new in the sense
that we just came up with them. But the gospel is always new. It's always news. The New Testament. Turn with
me to Hebrews chapter 8. Hebrews chapter 8. Verse 7, for if the first covenant,
that's the Old Testament, the covenant of works, if the first covenant had been
faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
For finding fault with them, he saith, behold, the days come,
saith the Lord, when I'll make a new covenant with the house
of Israel and with the house of Judah. Now this new covenant
was made before the foundation of the world. It didn't just
pop up into time. This is the eternal covenant.
It's called the new covenant. Not according to the covenant
I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the
hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they continued
not in my covenant and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. Now
in this first covenant, he took them by the hand. But you know
what he didn't have? Their heart. He can take them
by the hand. You know, if I take a child by
the hand, three, four years old, I can get them to do what I want
to do. I can yank them back and forth. I can get them here. I
can get them there. Somebody says, I can't control them. Yeah, you
can. Just grab them by the hand and pull them wherever you want.
You can do it. You can do it. You're bigger
than they are. But that's not real. It doesn't do anything
to the heart. Let's go on reading. Verse 10, for this is the covenant
that I'll make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord, I will put my laws into their mind and write them
in their heart. Now, that's a lot different than
leading them and yanking about by the hand. He says, I'll put
my laws. And he's not talking about the
10 commandments. Because the Ten Commandments are written
in everybody's heart. That's why I, when people say we need to be
taught how to live, you know how to live. You know you ought
not steal. You know you ought to pay your
bills. You know you ought not commit sexual sin. You know you
ought not murder people. You know you ought not steal.
You know you ought not covet. Everybody knows that. You know
you ought to love God with all your heart, all your soul, and
all your strength, and your neighbor as yourself. Somebody says, we
need to be taught to live. No, you don't. You already know.
You need to be taught how to die. You need to be taught the gospel.
But as far as all the, here's what you need to do, you know
you ought to pay your bills, don't you? Does anybody, do you
know you ought to pay your bills? Sure you do. Sure you do. You need to be taught the gospel
though. I need to be taught the gospel. And here he says, I will
write my laws. It's not talking about the 10
commandments. That's already written in your heart. You're born, you
do, you're born with that knowledge.
You know, in the New Testament, I've given these before, and
I found another one while I was preparing this message. I've
given the six laws of the new nature. There's actually seven.
These are all from the scripture. I write my laws, plural, in their
heart. Well, there's the law of sin.
You've got a law in your heart that makes you know that everything
that comes from your natural man is sin. It's called the law
of sin. The law of righteousness, you
can't be satisfied with anything short of perfect righteousness.
Your conscience can't be satisfied. The law of faith, you can't not
believe. I believe, help thou my unbelief,
but you can't not believe the gospel. The law of love, you
can't help but love God and love his people. The law of liberty,
you must have freedom. The law of Christ, Galatians 6, bear ye one another's
burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. And here's one I haven't
mentioned in the past, the law of the spirit of life in Christ
Jesus. Romans 8, 2, the law of the spirit of the life in Christ
Jesus. These are laws of nature, the new nature. Now go on reading. He says in this new covenant,
I will be to them a God, they shall be to me a people. They
shall not teach every man his neighbor and every man his brother
saying, know the Lord for all shall know me from the least
to the greatest for I will be merciful. I will be propitious
is the word to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more. Now, how in the world can the
Lord not remember something? He's got a good memory. How? Nothing there to remember. He's propitious. He's put it
away so that there is nothing there to remember. And he say
of the new covenant, he's made the first old. Now that which
decays and waxes old is ready to vanish away. In Matthew or Mark chapter one,
verse 27, they said, what new doctrine is this? For with authority,
He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him, the
new doctrine of Christ. It's eternal, but it's always
new. And with authority, he commands
even demons and they run from him. John chapter 13, verse 34,
a new commandment. I give you that you love one
another as I have loved you. You know, that commandment covers
them all, doesn't it? Second Corinthians 5, 17 says,
if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation, a new creature.
This is also called in scripture, the new man, the hidden man of
the heart. I love that. The hidden man of
the heart, hidden. You can't see it, but he's still there.
He's still there. Which is not corruptible. The
scripture says. the seed that does not commit
sin, the spirit that lusts against the flesh, partakers of the divine
nature, the clean heart, the new heart, the pure heart, a new creation. And I love what
creation explains this. Creation, there was nothing there. All there was was God. There
wasn't any atmosphere. There isn't any gas. All there
was was God. God said, light be. Light. Life be, new creation be. There it is. If any man be in
Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away.
Behold, all things have become new. This is the new man created in
righteousness and true holiness. Revelation 2 17, speaks of the
one who overcomes and is given a new name. And he's given according
to Revelation 5, 9, a new song worthy as a lamb. And the only
ones who know this song are the ones who were redeemed from out
of the earth. This will be sung in the new heavens and the new
earth in the inhabitants of the new Jerusalem. Now, I would like
to close by looking at a passage in Revelation 21. Verse 1, And I saw a new heaven and a
new earth. For the first heaven and the
first earth was passed away. There was no more sea. There was no more barrier. How
many times have you looked at the ocean and thought, what's
going on on the other side? But there's a big barrier. In
heaven, there is no barrier. And I, John, saw the holy city,
new Jerusalem, the church coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Oh, what a glorious
picture we have of the church with a wedding garment on, that
fine linen, clean and white, the righteousness of the saints,
which is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And I heard a great voice out
of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. And he will dwell with them and
they shall be his people and God himself shall be with them
and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. And there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain
for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the
throne said, behold, I make all things new. I make all things new. Now listen to this as the Lord
enables you very carefully. You can't change your history. Everybody's got a history. Everybody's got skeletons in
their closet. Everybody's got things they'd like to forget. Everybody's got things about
their past they wish didn't take place. Everybody's got sins they remember. Now most of them you've forgotten
about. You felt real bad about them at one time you didn't remember.
But the fact of the matter is we have a history that we cannot
change. We've got a past that we can't
get past. We have a history. Christ gives a new history. That's what justification is.
It's a new history where everything about you is pleasing to God. You've never had a thought or
a deed that he is not pleased with. You're going to hear him
say, well done thou good and faithful servant. You're going
to hear that. And the reason you're going to
hear that is in Christ. You have a perfect history, a
sinless history, a history that God is completely pleased with. I make all things new. And he said unto me, write, verse
five, for these words are true. and faithful, all things new. Now, how can that be? Is that pie in the sky? How can
that be? When Christ was on the cross, my history
became his history. My sin became his sin. That is why he died under the
wrath of God. He took my place. My history
became his history. And his perfect history becomes
my history. His story becomes my story. And he said it to me, verse six,
it's done. It's done. This isn't something
that has not yet happened. It is done. This new history. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? Try it. Bring it on. It's God that justifies. Who
is he that can condemn? It's Christ that died, yea, rather
that's risen again, who's even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. The newness. And let me say this
about this newness, you can't mess it up. You can't mar this
newness. This newness is the eternal righteousness
of Jesus Christ. Now as we eat the bread and drink
the wine, May God enable us to see that
his broken body and his shed blood is why we have this new
history. And I pray that the Lord will
enable us to just revel and rejoice in this new history that is ours
and that is ours eternally. And as we look forward to this
coming year, May we do so knowing my time is in thy hand. Let's pray. Lord, we ask that you would give us the grace All
who believe your gospel to know and rely on the history
of Christ is our history. how we thank you that you make
all things new. And Lord, I ask in Christ's name
that you would give each one of us that new heart. In Christ's name we pray, amen.