The New Covenant, Part 7

If you have your Bible, turn me to the book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews chapter 9. It has been five months to this weekend since we were last in the book of Hebrews. It was November of last year. And so we're going to just dive right into the deep end. We're not going to go back and review. We're just going to throw you right into the deepest part of the pool. Some of you will swim well. Others of you will tread water. Some of you will begin to sink, but that's okay. For those of us who can swim, we'll just pull you up and take you along with us.

As we keep on going through the book of Hebrews, you'll catch on to all that you need to understand. Now, I know you're saying, well, how am I ever going to remember what you talked about five months ago? The same way I remember it. How do you think I know what I believe? I have to go back and listen to what I said. So I know what I believe, because sometimes I forget even what I said before. So in order for me to get caught up to speed, I got to go back and think, what did I say way back when? So I know where I'm at in Hebrews 9 verse number 15.

You can do that. You can go online. You can purchase a CD. We don't have any cassettes, so we're not that old school. But if you want to get something to listen to, we've got it for you. But we're just going to dive right into Hebrews 9, and we're only going to cover one verse. There's so many verses to cover when it comes to the new covenant, because that's what we've been talking about here in Hebrews chapter 9. But we just want to do one verse with you this morning, kind of ease you back into it, because there is so much here for you to understand.

And quite honestly, I could spend two, three, four, maybe even five weeks just in verse number 15, because it's such a powerful point that the right of Hebrews wants to get across to you and me. Now we know, because we've been studying the book of Hebrews for quite a while, that it's all about the supremacy and the sufficiency of Jesus Christ our Lord. He is the one who is supreme. He is the supreme person. He is the supreme priest, the supreme prophet, and the supreme provision or payment that satisfies God's wrath against sin.

And the right of Hebrews is trying to get this Jewish audience, because that's who they are. There are no Gentiles in this letter. It's all about the Jewish people, helping them to understand that they can leave all of their rituals, all of their ceremonies, and all of their sacrifices, and embrace the person that all the rituals pointed to. Embrace the person that all the ceremonies they were engaged in celebrated. And to embrace the sacrifice that would give them permanent access to the presence of the living God, knowing that all their sacrifices could not do that.

So as the writer of Hebrews is writing, he's trying to convince them that they need to embrace the supremacy and sufficiency of the Messiah. It's such a great, rich book. There are so many truths here that explain to us the beauty of Christ. He wants them to leave the old covenant and embrace the new covenant. And the Jews would know what the new covenant was. It's outlined very clearly in Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel chapter 36. So this Jewish audience would know everything they needed to know about the promise of a new covenant.

And so they want, or he wants, this Jewish audience to realize that in the old covenant, they were never truly able to gain access to the presence of God. Every priest was willing, but no priest was able. But with Christ, the high priest, not only was he willing, he was able to give them what the old covenant could not get them, access into the presence of the living God. The old covenant only gave them a temporary relationship, but the new covenant gives them a permanent, eternal relationship. So he wants them to embrace the Messiah who ratified that new covenant with his shed blood.

That's what he's trying to do. And so in chapter nine, verse number 15, he outlined something for us that I think is very significant that we need to understand and try to put ourselves in the sandals of a Jewish person listening to this. Because they're going to wonder if this Messiah ushered in the new covenant and with that new covenant comes the complete and total forgiveness of sins, then what about all those saints under the old covenant in the Old Testament? How do they get permanent forgiveness of their sins?

Knowing this, that Hebrews 10, verse number four says this, it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. It's impossible. So if it's impossible for all the sacrifices that we're engaged in to take away their sins, how is it that all those Old Testament saints obtained forgiveness? Good question. They would also wonder if we embrace this Messiah and he forgives us our sins and we are truly born again, well, how is it those people under the Old Covenant in the Old Testament, how is it they were saved?

Good question. So Hebrews 9, verse 15 maps it out. It explains it. So let's look at it together. For this reason, he is the mediator of a new covenant so that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

For this cause, what's the cause? For this reason, maybe your text says that. What reason? Well, go back up to verse number 11. It says, but when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, he entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, none of this creation and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood. He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, that is an external cleansing, how much more will the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead work to serve the living God.

If what happened in the Old Testament gave you some kind of external cleansing and it did, symbolizing what was going to happen through an internal cleansing. So when Christ came and shed his blood, it actually gave you an internal cleansing, a freedom, not just from the penalty of sin, but from the guilt of sin. Now, for that reason, the writer says, he, the Messiah, Christ, the priest is the mediator. Is the go-between. Is the bridge to the new covenant. How do we obtain new covenant promise? It comes through the one who gave his life on Calvary's tree.

Just that simple. He shed his blood for you and me. Jesus, by the act of his death, became the go-between between man and God. That's why the Bible says, verse 52, verse number five, there is one mediator, one go-between between God and man, and that's the man, Christ Jesus.

There is just one bridge. So Christ could effectively say, I am the way, there is no other way. I'm the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes into the father, but by me. Everybody gets to God, right? Everybody who lives gets to God. But the only way to get to the father is through me. That's it. Paul would say, or Luke would say in the book of Acts, the fourth chapter, there is no other name that hath been given among men whereby you must be saved. And that name is Christ Jesus. You see, there was always a problem in man getting to God, and that was his sin.

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Every man has fallen short of the standard. I'm not the standard, you're not the standard, the government's not the standard, God's the standard, right? So all have sinned and fallen short of God's standard, his glory. Sin becomes the standard. It became that barrier. And that barrier caused there to be a huge separation between God and man. Sin separates you from God. If sin is not rectified, you die in your sin, you experience eternal separation because death is defined as separation from God.

And so because man has sinned, he is separated from God. There's this great barrier. And that barrier was symbolized by what? That huge veil in the temple, right? That huge veil in the temple kept man, the ordinary guy, outside the presence of God. And the high priest, he could only go in once, once a year, the Day of Atonement, that's it. And he would go in and he would offer sacrifices for the sins of Israel, the sins of the people of God. But the normal guy, the average guy, never was able to enter into the presence of the living God.

He couldn't. So although every priest was willing to have man come in, he could not come in. So there was a barrier. The sin was that barrier. And so the old covenant could not give access to God. But the new covenant, it does give access. In other words, the Old Testament priest could not mediate fully, could not be that full bridge to God. He can only mediate partially, temporarily, because man was separated from God. The whole Old Testament signifies that man could not get into God's presence.

And so he says, for this reason, you now have a mediator, a bridge that will give you access into the presence of the living God. And then this is so good because he says this, for this reason, he is the mediator of a new covenant so that since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, that's the Mosaic covenant, the old covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

He says, listen, I want to let you know that everybody in the Old Testament was saved like everybody in the New Testament. We're all saved by grace through faith in the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. In the Old Testament, they lived in anticipation of that. In the New Testament, we live in realization of that. So in the old covenant, they lived in anticipation of a sacrifice, a full sacrifice that would allow them to receive the forgiveness of sins. And we live in the realization of the sacrifice that was offered and we take by faith what God has said to be true, and it is, and we embrace all that it means for us.

So the writer says, I want to let you know how those in the old covenant were forgiven. Because you see, there was a problem. I think this is true. If the blood of bulls and goats do not provide forgiveness, how is it I can ever obtain forgiveness? Is God unrighteous? Is God unjust? Read the Old Testament, God's forgiving. He's merciful. He's compassionate. He's forgiven people all over the place. But wait a minute. If when I go to offer a sacrifice and blood is shed, but it doesn't forgive me of my sins, then God must be unjust.

He must be a liar. Well, why would I do this? Why would I go and offer up all these sacrifices if I was unable to receive the forgiveness of sins? Now remember, I would go and offer sacrifice because it would cover my sins until when? The next sin. So I would go and offer a sacrifice and I'd be forgiven of my sin. And I would leave the tabernacle. I would leave the temple, see my enemy, get upset with him, maybe get in a fight with him. Gotta go right back in, ask forgiveness again, offer another sacrifice.

It was over and over and over again. But it only covered my sin temporarily. It didn't remove my sin. It just covered my sin. But yet God forgave. So how can God forgive if the blood of bulls and goats don't provide forgiveness? The Bible says it's impossible.

So there's a question in the Jewish mind how that happens. Isn't rightly so. But it is answered. It's what Paul says in Romans chapter three. He says something very similar. In 323, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Verse 24, being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption, which is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation, as a satisfaction. Hilasterion means a mercy seat or a covering. But there was a satisfaction that was displayed publicly in his blood through faith.

This was to demonstrate his righteousness. Because in the forbearance of God, he passed over the sins previously committed. For the demonstration, I say, of his righteousness at the present time so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Paul says that through the one sacrifice, it displayed the righteousness of God. It also displayed the forbearance of God. Because listen carefully, in God's patience, in God's forbearance, he would overlook the transgression. At the same time, providing forgiveness, knowing that the lamb was slain before the foundation of the world.

Very important to understand this. Because you see, what God did is he forgave sins on credit. So that there would be a one-time payment for all those sins. Think about it. Every time I would go and offer a sacrifice, because that's what God demanded. I did it in faith, believing that one day there would be a sacrifice that would permanently remove my sins. Now, granted, there were some who went to offer sacrifices who just kind of went through the motions, all right? Maybe you're here today and you're coming to church, but you're just going through the motions, right?

There were people that were that way. They just went through the motions. They just did the sacrificial thing because that's what they were supposed to do. They were Jewish. So they just did it. And they went along with that. But they really didn't believe in a sacrifice that would come and remove their sins. They didn't believe that. They just kind of did it because everybody else did it. But there were those who really truly believed. They were righteous and devout believers in the living God. They took to heart everything God said.

And so when they went in and symbolically offered these sacrifices, they did it in anticipation of what was going to happen to the sacrifice that would remove them or remove all their sins from them. They believed that. And they didn't obtain the inheritance necessarily or all the promises of God. We see this in Hebrews chapter 11. That all these Old Testament saints did not receive all the promises of God. They didn't. But they still believe because they live by faith. They live based on the promises of God's holy word.

God had made a promise, right? The promise was wrapped up in a new covenant. That there would be a permanent forgiveness of their sins. This was the promise. But the problem was man's sin. And sin became the barrier between him and God and separated from his God. So God had to then to give a provision for that. And that provision came in his son who would be the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. God knowing that could forgive their sins on credit because of his patience waiting to the sacrifice on Calvary.

I think about this way. If I'm an Old Testament saint and I die believing in the sacrifice that was to come I would go to Sheol. I would go to the grave. Jews called that Abraham's bosom. Christ called it paradise. You can read about it in Luke chapter 16. The rich man and Lazarus. The rich man went to a place of torment but Lazarus went to Abraham's bosom. The Jews believed that. And I believe that they were right based on Hebrews 9 15 and Ephesians chapter 4. Because you see the veil in the temple had yet to be torn from top to bottom.

That happened when? At Calvary when Christ said it is finished. And when he gave up the spirit that miraculous aspect that took place when the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom signifying now there is finally access to God.

There's access to his presence. And so if I'm an Old Testament saint I'm going to die. I'm going to go to Abraham's bosom. I'm going to go to paradise. Christ said to the thief on the cross today you should be with me where? In paradise. Right? So when you read Ephesians chapter 4 you read these words. Verse number 8. It says Therefore it says when he ascended on high he led captive a host of captives and he gave gifts to men. Now this expression he ascended what does it mean except that he also had descended into the lower parts of the earth.

He who descended is himself also he who ascended far above all the heavens so that he might fill all things. Now Paul doesn't tell us much but we know that the one who ascended also descended and he descended to the lower parts of the earth. Peter says it this way. 1st Peter chapter chapter 1. I'm sorry 1st Peter chapter 3. He says this. Verse 18. For Christ also died for sins once for all to just for the unjust so that he might bring us to God. Right? Christ died in order that we might have access to God because there was no other way to get access to the living God except through his son Jesus Christ the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world.

Then he says this. He says having been put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit in which also he went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah during the destruction of the ark. So he said what did Christ do after he died in the flesh but was alive in the spirit? He went down to the lower parts of the earth. He made a proclamation. He didn't preach the gospel because you can't preach the gospel to demons who are imprisoned.

They're unsavable. But he went down to make a victorious proclamation that says simply I win you lose. I'm the winner because they had no idea that Jesus had died and rose again. How would they know that? They are spirits that have been kept in prison since the days of Noah. So they wouldn't know that they knew about the plan but they wouldn't know that Jesus came and died and rose again. How would they know? Jesus went down and told himself. And then at that time, Ephesians 4 he would lead a phrase taken from Psalm 68 a procession of those who believed into the kingdom of his father the kingdom of God.

He would take those in Abraham's bosom. He would take those in paradise. Because now access to the presence of God was fully open. And now he would take them into eternal glory to obtain their eternal inheritance forever and ever and ever. Isn't that rich? So the writer of Hebrews is trying to explain this to people. Look, he says very clearly Hebrews 9, verse number 15. He says, since there has been a death since the blood has been shed by the Messiah he now is the bridge. He now is a mediator. Okay.

That's taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant.

In other words, he died to forgive the sins of all those who were under the old covenant. Oh, no, listen carefully. He could not have died for the sins of those in the old covenant who did not believe. Could he? Because if he did that means all the unbelievers in the old Testament would do what? Go to heaven. But we know that's not true. So when he died on Calvary and opened up access and provided redemption provided forgiveness for those under the old covenant he didn't provide forgiveness for those who didn't believe that the sacrifices they were offering were pointing to that one sacrifice because that would mean that everybody who was in Hades under torment could come out of torment and go to heaven.

He only died on the cross for those in the old covenant who truly believed him. Does that make sense? I mean, it's pretty clear because you can't die for those who didn't believe because they'd be out of hell into heaven. That would be universalism and we don't believe in universalism. The Bible doesn't teach that. He makes it very clear by saying this. He was 915. To those who have been called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance. You see, those who didn't believe weren't called. So because they weren't called they would never receive the eternal inheritance.

So when Christ died on Calvary's cross he died and made one payment one final payment one sacrifice one and one only that would remove and provide forgiveness for all those in the old testament who were called by God that they might receive eternal inheritance. They would because he's righteous he could forgive them other sins when they offered a sacrifice even though the blood of bulls and goats did not remove sin he could do it because he lives in the eternal now.

Right? Christ lives in the eternal now. That is the past, the present, and the future all at the same time. Now we can't fathom that but that's how God lives. He lives in the past, the present, and the future all at the same time. And because he had this perfect plan where he would redeem man from his sin through the sacrifice of his son he could righteously forgive those in the old testament who were called because when they symbolically offered up their sacrifices they did so in anticipation of the one sacrifice that was coming for them.

And that's what the writer of Hebrews is saying. You want to know how your Jewish friends were saved in the old testament? Let me explain it to you in one verse.

Let me unfold it for you so you understand it. There was a sacrifice that was made in one offering. Listen carefully. In one offering on Calvary the Lord who lives in the eternal now past, present, and future all at once gave a sacrifice for the sins of all those who would believe in the old testament and for all those who would believe in the new testament for all those who were called in the old testament for all those who would be called in the new testament for all those who were called based on the predetermined plan of the living God from eternity past that one sacrifice was sufficient because it was sufficient to forgive that which the blood of bulls and goats could never forget.

So the question comes, are you one of the called? How do you know you're one of the called? The writer of Hebrews says those who are called obtain the eternal inheritance. You see, when Israel went into Canaan that was their inheritance, right? But it was an earthly inheritance not an eternal inheritance. It was a temporary inheritance because they were taken off into captivity, right? They were ousted out of the land. It wasn't a permanent inheritance. It was a temporary inheritance. It was an earthly inheritance.

But salvation is an eternal inheritance because it is not an earthly one. It's a spiritual one. It's forever. That's why Peter said this way in first Peter chapter one.

He said, blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope to the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled and will never fade away reserved in heaven for you who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed at the last time. You have received an inheritance that will never fade away that will never lose its luster that cannot be taken away.

It cannot be defiled or soiled. It's a reservation that cannot be canceled because it's kept by the power of God. So the question comes, how do you know you're one of the called? What do you know about the calling of God? There are so many verses in scripture that speak about God's calling. The Bible says in the book of first Corinthians chapter one verse number 26 that we are to consider our calling.

I wonder if you've ever done that taking time to consider your calling. In second Timothy one verse number nine it says that we're called with a holy calling.

Hebrews three verse number one we're called with a heavenly calling. Philippians chapter three verse number 10 we're called with a high calling. So whatever the calling of God is it's a heavenly calling. It's a holy calling. It's a high calling, right? It's a calling of God. So Paul says in first Corinthians one have you considered your calling?

And then it says over in Romans chapter eight verse number 28 we know that all things work together for good to those what? Who are called according to his purpose. They've been called according to his purpose. We also know that Peter says in second Peter one verse number 10 make certain about his calling and choosing you.

Have you ever done that? How do you know sitting here today you're one of the called? I can tell you without reservation that I know that I've been called by God into his kingdom. I know that because listen the call of God commences with him. The call of God commences with God. You say wait a minute doesn't the Bible say whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Yes, it does. Absolutely. But you cannot call unless you've been called first.

John 15 16 Christ said to his men you did not choose me. I chose you. In John six verse number 44 what did Christ say? No man comes into the father unless the father first what?

Draws him to himself. I'll never call upon God unless he calls me first. Why? Because I as Ephesians two says am dead in my trespasses and sins. I can't do anything. I'm a dead man. I'm a dead man spiritually. I cannot discern the things of the spirit of God. We know that Romans three verses 10 to 18 gives us as long expectation that there's none good no not one. There is none that seek after God. So I can't seek after God on my own. I can seek him once he has already called me but I'll never seek him on my own because I'm a sinner.

I'm separated from God. I have nothing in me that aspires to be with God unless of course I'm called by God. So listen to what the Bible says in Romans chapter chapter one.

Romans chapter one verse number number five. Through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for his namesake among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ. To all who are beloved of God in Rome called as saints who called him. God did. First Corinthians chapter one.

First Corinthians chapter one verse number two. To the church of God which is at Corinth to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus saints by calling. Verse number nine. God is faithful through whom you were called into fellowship with his son Jesus Christ our Lord. You were called by God into fellowship with his son. Verse number 20. We preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness but to those who are the called of both the Jews and the Greeks Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

You see it's very important to realize that it's Christ himself who calls us to himself. So the call of God commences with God. It begins with him. It doesn't begin with you and me. So everything has been already predetermined by God. Now remember.

Remember this. That God is not unrighteous or unjust in anything that he does. He's completely righteous. He cannot do anything that's unrighteous. Anything that's unholy. Anything that's wrong. Everything that God does is right because it's true. It's perfect. So when he calls a man he calls him to himself. The Bible says very clearly in the book of Matthew.

The 22nd verse. Many are called but few are chosen. There is a universal call right? Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Call upon the Lord that you might be saved. It's a universal call but the salvific call comes from God. He's the one who calls us because he's the one who chooses us. Just like he did back in the Old Testament. Jeremiah chapter one verse number four. Now the word of the Lord came to me saying before I formed you in the womb I knew you. And before you were born I consecrated you.

I have appointed you a prophet to the nations. Wow. So before you were born. Before you were conceived. Before your mom and dad knew anything about marriage. I predetermined the eternity of the past to choose you. To be my prophet. I formed you in the womb. That's why Psalm 139 is such a powerful chapter in the Bible. Because it talks to us about the fact that all of our days are numbered. Not only that God knew us before he formed us. God has intricately evolved in your life and my life. Have you ever considered your calling?

Have you ever made certain God's calling in choosing of you? It begins with this. It commences with God. Number two.

That call. That call comes only through the gospel. That call comes only through the gospel. Man has never been saved by general revelation. That is the moon. The stars. The land. The sea. As great as it is. It tells us that there is a God. But it doesn't tell you who his name is. Doesn't tell you about what he did. Only the gospel does that, right? So man was never saved by general revelation. They've always been saved by specific revelation. So the call commences with God and it comes only through the gospel.

Listen to what the Bible says in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse number 11. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 13 and 14, I'm sorry. But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation. We're going to give thanks to God for you because what God did is he chose you from the very beginning for salvation. Through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth, it was for this he called you through his gospel.

He calls you through his gospel. You were chosen from the beginning for salvation. But until eternity intersect with time and the word of God was preached to you and you heard the truth, faith cometh by hearing and hearing about a word concerning the Christ, Romans 10, 17. The law of the Lord is perfect, Psalm 19, verse number 7, converting the soul. The only way a soul is converted is through the preaching of the gospel. When you come, we open the word of God, we preach to you the truth, because that's the only thing that's going to save you.

The stories I tell or the songs I might even attempt to sing will never save you. No one ever came to heaven on a song or story, only through the simple presentation of the gospel message that Jesus Christ came to this world to save sinners. And Paul said, and I'm the chief of those sinners. You preach the gospel. That's why when you come, we want you to realize that if you don't know Christ, today's the day of salvation. Don't wait any longer. Peter says it this way, 1 Peter chapter 1. 1 Peter chapter 1, he says in verse number 22, since you have in obedience to the truth, purified your souls for a sincere love for the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart.

For you have been born again, not of a seed, which is perishable, but imperishable. That is through the living and enduring word of God. For all flesh is like grass and all its glory, like the flower of grass, the grass withers and the flower falls off. But the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word which was preached to you. Listen, the call of God commences with him. You were chosen in eternity past. God didn't look into the future and see you believe and then choose you. That would mean you're in control of your destiny and not God.

Oh no, folks, that's heresy. That puts you in total control of your eternal destination. God looks down the corridor of time and sees you believe in him. Oh, I'm going to save that one then. I'm going to choose that one because he chose me. Oh no, no. God chose us in eternity past for salvation. Everything commences with him. And it comes only through the gospel that's been preached. That's why he preached the gospel. The faith tell people the truth. We don't want them to understand it. So listen, if the call commences with God and the call comes only through the gospel.

Note this, the call is conceived only by grace. Listen to this, Galatians chapter one, verse number six. This is so rich, so good. Galatians one, verse number six. I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ. God called us by the grace of Christ. The call of God is conceived by grace. By grace are you saved through faith that not of yourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. It's a free gift of God. Remember way back in Genesis chapter six, that when God looked over man, what did he see?

That every intention of every man's heart was only evil continually. Every man's heart, even Noah's heart. But then it says in verse eight of Genesis six, but God graced Noah. God didn't choose to grace anybody else. There are millions of people on the earth in Genesis chapter six. And God chose to grace one man in his family. That's it, nobody else, just one man in his family. He was done with the debauchery in man. But in his grace, for 120 years, Noah preached and built an ark. Because God's long-suffering, God's patient, God's merciful, God's kind.

So through the preaching of righteousness, which Noah was, he was a preacher of righteousness. He would preach the gospel. He would tell the truth. Judgment's coming. You're going to perish. You're going to die. Repent, give your life to the living God. People laughed at him. They mocked him until it began to rain. And Noah's family were called to the ark. And guess who shut the door of the ark? Not Noah, God did. If Noah had shut the door to the ark, guess what? He'd open it to the screaming people out there begging to come in.

But God shut it because God said, it's over. You had the opportunity and you refused to believe. But God graced Noah. If you've been called of God, you've been graced. It was all conceived by the unmerited favor of God. There was nothing about you that God said, you're going to do my kingdom well. I am so glad that you are as beautiful as you are. I am so glad you're as popular as you are. I am so glad you're as rich as you are. You do such great things for the kingdom. No, that's why Paul says, consider your calling, brother.

Because God didn't choose many wise. He didn't choose many noble. He didn't choose many rich. Didn't say any, just said many, right? He chose the foolish things in this world to confound the wise. That's where I'm at. I'm just a foolish thing of the world. I'm not rich. I'm not wise. I'm not noble. I'm just a foolish person. That God chose and decided to grace. That just is such a marvelous truth. That's why I want to serve him. That's why in Hebrews 9, verse number 14, it said, how much more with the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God to cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

You see, when your conscience has been cleansed from all of its guilt and all of its stain and all of its sin, guess what? You can't wait to serve the living God because you have been graced by him. Consider your calling, brethren. It commences with God. It comes only through the gospel of God. And it's conceived only by the grace of God. And you know what else? Next week, I'll tell you. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for today and the opportunity we have to be in your word. So many truths to understand.

So many things to grasp. Lord, we've dived right back into this beautiful book. Oh, God, help us to digest the things that we're learning. Help us to grow in what we've learned, to understand what we've learned. Some things are more difficult than others. But, Lord, you want us to know and understand whether or not we've been called by the living God. Because, Lord, we're able to obtain the eternal inheritance. Wow. The presence of the living God. Oh, Lord, may none of us leave today without knowing we had that ironclad assurance of that inheritance.

We ask in Jesus' name, amen.