We are in Hebrews chapter eight
again this hour, if you would like to turn there. While you're turning there, I
would like to say my desire this morning is to reveal our hope,
reveal our hope, whether it be in ourself or whether it be in
the Lord Jesus Christ. I would like the Lord, if he
would be pleased, to cause us to be honest with ourselves and
reveal our hope. What is our hope? Men cling to emotional experiences
and believe that they've come to a knowledge of the truth.
Men and women, they cling to experiences. If you are waiting
on an experience to confess the Lord, you're always going to
be waiting. Because Christ, although we do
experience grace, we do experience peace, we do experience joy,
there isn't a moment, a big emotional stirring, a big wow, like religion
puts on. It doesn't happen. It's like
the blind man said, whereas I was blind, now I see. And if you
see Christ, the eunuch that was reading Isaiah 53, when Philip
came to the eunuch, Philip said, do you understand what you're
reading? And he said, how can I except a man show me? And he
started preaching the gospel out of Isaiah 53. And the eunuch
said, well, here's water. What permits me from being baptized?
I believe. I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And Philip baptized him right there. We don't look for experiences.
We look to confess. We start out confessing Christ,
don't we? And we finish confessing Christ. That's it. That's the
believer's life. Paul said, God forbid that I
should glory save the cross, save in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ. Men that look for experiences
and hold to traditions and different things, they're just glorying
in themselves. But Paul said, God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Brethren, our hope
never comes from what is seen. We can look back and see that
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life like
David. David was on his deathbed. He said, although it be not so
with my house, yet the Lord hath made with me an everlasting covenant,
ordered in all things and ensure. And he could have remembered
all the times that he fled for his life from Saul and others,
and the Lord saved him and delivered him miraculously. Saved him from
Goliath. He could remember that. But we
don't look at those experiences as the evidence of our salvation.
We look to a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. We confess a person,
the Lord Jesus Christ. We never look to our promises
to God, but his promises to us. We look to his promises, don't
we? We look to the promise he's made to his elect, chosen in
Christ before the world began. Now here in our text, we can
call that an intro, I suppose. Here in our text, the Lord says
these words, these two words, and this is what I've titled
the message. I will. I will. He says it five times. Five is the number of grace,
which the girls learned about this morning. The number of grace. Songwriter said, oh to grace,
how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be. We can relate
to that. We can relate to that. So let's
read this, Hebrews 8, 7 through 13, 7 through the end. For 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 will make the new covenant with the
house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Not according
to the covenant I made with their fathers in the day when I took
them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. because
they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith
the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with them, I
will make with the house of Israel after these days, saith the Lord.
I will put my laws into their minds and write them in their
hearts, and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me
a people. And 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 to their unrighteousness, and their sins
and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he sayeth a
new covenant, he hath made the first old, now that which is
decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. Everything, everything,
without exception. pertaining to salvation, pertaining
to redemption, pertaining to sanctification, pertaining to
justification, everything pertaining to glorification. Everything
is determined not by what we do, but by God saying, I will. I will save you and you're going
to be saved. I will redeem you and you will
be redeemed. I will make a new covenant, he
says. We heard about the new covenant the first hour, didn't
we? I'm not gonna spend much time on that. I will make a new
covenant. I will put my laws in their heart.
What are those laws that he speaks of? They came to the Lord and
asked the Lord, what's the greatest commandment? They were always
trying to trick him, weren't they? You can look at the 10 commandments
and see the first five are unto God and the second five are unto
man. And so he sums it up by saying
it perfectly, as the Lord always does. Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul, and strength. And the second
is likened to the first. Love your neighbor as yourself.
That's all the commandments right there summed up. He says, I'm
going to put that in your heart. You're going to love God. You
can say truthfully, you love God. You love His sovereignty. You love Him having all the glory.
You love His power. You love His, you love everything
about Him. I love, we love everything about
God, don't we? The way that He is, the seated, successful Redeemer
of His people. We love God. Not with this flesh,
but with the new man, we love Him with all of our heart, all
of our mind, all of our soul, and all of our strength. We do,
the new man does. We love each other, don't we?
Because the love of God is shed abroad in our heart, we love
the brethren. We love the brethren. I love you all. I'm excited to
spend some time with you this afternoon. Lord did that. So he put the law in our hearts
as new creatures in Christ. That's what he's done. Then he says, I will be God to
them. I will be God to them. Lord said,
I am the Lord. Besides me, there is none other.
Now there is so many fabricated gods, so many are We're idol
factories, is what we are. We'll make an idol out of about
anything, even ourself. We'll glory in ourself if the
Lord leaves us to ourself. Don't even mean to do it. It's
just our nature. It's natural. We want something
we can see or touch. The Lord says, no, I'm going
to be your God. I'm going to be your God. There'll be no room for any other
God. It is not true that we love the Lord. We don't want any other
God. We don't desire any other God.
We want Him. Then he says, I will be merciful
unto their unrighteousness. I'll be merciful to their unrighteousness.
And then he says, I will remember their sin and iniquity no more. Now, if he doesn't do all the
work of everything he just said, it will not be done. For certainly
you and I cannot make a new covenant with God that would be good enough
or perfect to save us. And number two, you and I can't
put the laws of the Lord in our heart because we would try to
work iniquity, wouldn't we? Number three, we're not God.
He's God. Number four, our unrighteousness
is what we do. Sin is what we are. And iniquity
is what we try to do to fix it. And so if the Lord doesn't put
it away, we have no hope of fixing it, do we? We're born utterly full of sin. Born utterly full of sin without
the ability to do anything about it. This is why God must have
to say, in verse 12, I will be merciful. I will be merciful
to their unrighteousness. I will be merciful to their unrighteousness
and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. How
is it that your sins are gone? Well, in the book of Hebrews,
we've looked at it several times recently, but chapter one, verse
three tells us, when he had by himself purged our sins, he sat
down. So there's the sin, they're gone.
What about the iniquity? Isaiah 53 said, the Lord hath
laid upon him the iniquity of us all. He put it away. What
about our unrighteousness? He took our unrighteousness,
being robed in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemned
sin in the flesh, so that you and I could be made the righteousness
of God in Him. Our Lord was made sin for us
who knew no sin. He's taken care of it. That's
the covenant. That's what the covenant accomplished.
This is what the Lord Jesus Christ did. This is what happens when
God says, I will. I will make you the very righteousness
of God in Christ. And now we see that it's been
accomplished. So what does he say? I have made you the very
righteousness of God in Christ. No, he's not just going to forget
them and sweep them under the rug. He will not acquit the guilty.
He's not going to give you a choice and understand this. This is
something that was preached that I don't think people really understand
that this is what they're saying. He's giving you a choice to make
them disappear. Men act like God says, if you choose me, your
sins will disappear. That's what they act like. All
you have to do is choose the Lord and your sins will go away.
Well, that means I made my sins go away, doesn't it? That's what
that means. If my choice made my sin disappear,
I made my sin go away. It's not true, is it? No, it's
not possible. Not possible. What was done on
the cross was an atonement for sin to everyone of God's elect.
It was punishment. that was due us was given to
the Lamb of God. He put away sin on the cross.
It wasn't an offering to man. It wasn't an offering for you
to make a choice. It was an offering to God, and
God was satisfied. The sin's gone now. He just lets
you know about it when he calls you. When he saves you, he says,
hey, I've loved you with an everlasting love. Before the foundation of
the world, I've seen you in Christ. You're perfectly righteous. He
calls us to wake up, don't he? He says, arise. Oh, this all started with a covenant.
I said I wasn't going to speak much on it, and I'm not. But
this covenant, oh, it's not dependent upon man. It's completely dependent
upon what our God saying, I will. And I love, the Lord gave me
this for an article for next week. This covenant, this gospel,
what we believe, started with God saying, I will, and it ended
with God saying, it is finished. That's what we believe, isn't
it? Started with God saying, I will save you. And it ended
with him saying, it is finished. My people are redeemed. Not contingent
upon me and you. It's the eternal covenant, covenant
of grace, whereby God's people have been redeemed. It's entirely
dependent upon the Lord Jesus Christ. The entirety of scripture
is the Lord declaring, I said this the first hour, the entirety
of scripture is the Lord declaring, I will and then telling us, showing
us what he did, and then telling us I have. That's the entirety
of scripture. Telling us what he's gonna do, then him doing
it, then him telling here's what I've done. I've saved you. I've
redeemed you. I've bought you. You're mine.
You're mine. Scripture tells us that God said
before time I will make a covenant whereby sinners are going to
be saved. We heard Brother Al read that
he didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners. Sinners to repentance. You ever see yourself as a sinner?
Boy, that's good news. I come to save sinners. I qualify. I'm the chief. That's what Paul
said. That's what Paul said. Either we are hoping, and I said
I want us to answer this question, either we are hoping, It can
only be one or two. There isn't no three ways about
it. Either we are hoping in ourself, our made up covenant, or we're
hoping in the Lord Jesus Christ. It has to be completely, not
partially, not 99% has to be completely. Either we are hoping
in the covenant of grace or of works, it can't be both. Either
our comfort comes from hearing God say, I will, Our comfort
comes from us saying, I have, I will. Can't be both. Either we are clinging to the
Lord. You remember when the Lord said,
suffer the little children, let them come unto me and forbid
them not for of such is the kingdom of heaven. Either we're clinging
to Christ as a child clings, or we're clinging to some self-righteousness
in and of ourself. Either we're completely dependent
upon him, or we are dependent upon ourself. Now everyone, this is, I want
to be very clear on this, everyone glories in their righteousness.
The believer and the non-believer glories in their righteousness.
Those that have been saved and those that are not. The elect
and those that are left to themselves, both glory in their righteousness. The difference to the believer
is Christ is our righteousness. We have no righteousness outside
of him. We glory in Christ, do we not? Everyone else glories
in their righteousness of themselves. Everyone glories in their righteousness.
But the Lord's people, Christ has made into us all of our wisdom,
all of our righteousness, all of our sanctification, and all
of our redemption. We glory in nothing but him.
Paul said in Romans, by whom also we've accessed by faith
into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in the hope of the
glory of God. We hope in the glory of God.
Do you hope in the glory of God? Is Christ your desire? Are you
hoping in his finished work and what he's done? Or are you hoping
in yourself? See, you gotta ask the question.
You gotta ask yourself the question. Lord, is it I? The Lord said,
one of you are gonna deny me. One of you are gonna betray me
is what he said. I'm sorry, betray me. And nobody pointed fingers
at Judas and said, well, this guy's, he's been smelling funny
for a bit. We've been watching him and he's been doing some
things, shady stuff. We think it may be him. No, every one
of them pointed to self. Lord, is it I? Is it I? Ask yourself, Lord, is it I?
Do I believe Christ? This is life and death. Am I
clinging to Christ and nothing else for salvation? Or am I looking
to an experience or looking to something I've done or looking
to something I don't do? It's life and death. If you're desiring to be rewarded
based upon your merits, you're not looking to Christ and His
merits. Our hope is in the Lord declaring,
I will. I will save you. And he did it
all. Turn with me to Jeremiah 31. Now this, our text is actually
a direct quote from Jeremiah 31, 31 through 34. But something I wanna point out to
us is that Here in this chapter of Jeremiah 31, the two words
I will are mentioned 14 times, 14 times. And you'll notice as
we read through this, there is not a bit of it contingent upon
the Lord's people, not a bit. The Lord talks about Ephraim
here, he's talking about his chosen people. When he's talking
about Israel here, he's talking about his chosen people, his
elect. He's not talking about the nation over in the Middle
East, that's not God's chosen people. God's chosen people are
those that are in Christ, are given faith, the children by
faith. Now look at this with me, verse
one of chapter 31. At the same time, saith the Lord,
will I be the God of all the families of Israel and they shall
be my people. Thus saith the Lord, the people which were left
of the sword found grace in the wilderness, even Israel, when
I went to cause him to rest. And the Lord hath appeared of
old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love. Therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn thee. Again,
I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel.
Thou shalt again be adorned with the tabret, and shalt go forth
in the dances of them that make merry. Did you hear any contingencies
there based upon you and I? It's all him. I've done this,
I'm going to do this. You're gonna do this because
I've done this. I've loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore,
because I've loved you with an everlasting love, I've drawn
you. I drew you. Look at verse eight. Behold,
I will bring them from the north country and gather them from
the coast of the earth and with them the blind and the lame and
the woman with child and her that travaileth with children.
A great company shall return thither. They shall come with
weeping and with supplication. Will I lead them? I will cause
them to walk by the rivers of water in a straight way wherein
they shall not stumble for I am a father to Israel and Ephraim
is my firstborn." Brethren, it's all His doing. He's gonna do
the saving. He's gonna do the redeeming.
He's gonna do the calling. He's gonna do the bringing. He's
gonna do the keeping. What a gospel. That's good news. I said at the first hour, and
I'll say it again, we can't mess that up. God says, I will. Who's
going to stop him? Who's going to stop him? Who's
going to challenge him? The Lord said, I will. Nobody can challenge God. He's
God. He said, I will do all these things. Look at verse 31. We'll read this again. This was
our text in Hebrews 8, same wording. Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant
that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by
the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which my covenant
they break, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord. But
this shall be the covenant I will make with the house of Israel.
After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws in their inward
parts and write it in their heart and will be their God. and they
shall be my people. And they shall not teach no more
every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, know
the Lord. For they shall all know me from the least of them
and to the greatest of them, saith the Lord. For I will forgive
their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." Brethren,
this entire chapter, there is not one contingency. based upon
you and I, not one merit that we must bring, not one choice
that we make, not one effort that we put forth. This is God
speaking and saying, I'm going to do everything. I'm going to
leave nothing undone. It's all about the Lord saying,
I will, and ending it with, it is finished. It is finished. Without this, we have no gospel.
We have no hope. But because he cannot lie, because
he cannot change, we have hope. And the Lord says, I will. He
said, I loved you with an everlasting love. I have redeemed you. Turn
with me to Isaiah chapter 43. Back a few pages. Look at verse one through four.
Now, he just got done saying, I will. How many times? There's 14 in that chapter. I
will, I will. Now listen to what he says. Chapter
43 of Isaiah, verse one. But now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear
not, for I have. I have redeemed thee. Now it's
past tense, isn't it? I have called thee by thy name,
thou art mine. When thou passest through the
waters, I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the fire,
thou shalt not be burned. Neither shall thy flame kindle
upon thee, for I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel,
thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Saba for thee, since thou was precious in my sight. Thou hast been honorable and
I have loved thee. Therefore will I give men for
thee and people for thy life. He starts out by telling us,
I will, I will do this. I will do that. And now we have,
I have, I have done this and I have done that. I spoke it. Lord spoke it. Who's going to
prevent him? He said, I performed it. Who was going to stop me?
It is finished. And do you know why he did all
of it? He told us right here. Because you were precious in
his sight. Me? That's what he just said. Precious in his sight. The Lord's people are precious
in his sight. How precious is your children
to you in your sight? How precious is your spouse,
your family? Lord Jesus Christ was given By
the Father, God so loved, He gave His only begotten Son to
redeem His people. That's how precious you are in
His sight. Look at verse 10. Ye are my witnesses, saith the
Lord, and my servant, whom I have chosen. Boy, it's all Him, isn't
it? He did it all. That ye may know and believe
me, and understand that I am He. Before me there was no God
form, neither shall thou be after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and
beside me there is no Savior. I have declared and have saved
and I have shown when there was no strange God among you, wherefore
ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God. Yea, before
the day was, I am, and there is none that can deliver out
of my hand. I will work. And who shall let
it? Who shall let it? He said, I
will. Then he said, I have. Then he
just told us, who's going to stop me? Who's going to stop
me? The Lord does all things according
to his determinate counsel, according to his purpose. And thank God
that determinate counsel and that purpose is what the Lord
chose to save his people. He chose to redeem us before
time ever began. Why? Because you're precious
in his sight. God gave his only begotten son to make a bunch
of wretches. That's what we are, a bunch of wretches. The righteousness
of God in Christ. To make sinners washed whiter
than snow. The blood goes deeper than the stain gone. We were
stained, blood went deeper. Hebrews 8, 12 said, for I will
be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities
while I remember no more. Why does he not cast us off?
Why does he not leave us to ourself? Because he cannot deny himself.
We're in Christ. He cannot deny himself. He keeps
his people because we are precious in his sight. Therefore, he put
away our sins and purged our iniquity. He robed us in his
righteousness. And you know what he did after all that? He sat
down. He sat down. Started with I will
and it ended with it is finished. Then he sat down. Thank God he
chose to say I will. Let's pray. Father, bless this
to our understanding according to your will cause us to. Believe
you. Cling to you and hope in you
only in Christ name, Amen. Let's close the service