Well, dear brethren, it's good to see you all again this evening. I'm sure after the tiredness is setting in on our wearied and tired bodies this afternoon, we need the Lord's special help to see clearly the truth of His Word once more from Jeremiah 32. If you have a copy of your Bible, please open up theirs. We'll be there, God willing, this evening. I pray that you have come once more prepared to hear and to feast from God and His Word. We're going to continue this. Finishing out chapter 32, this morning we saw specifically Jeremiah 32, 17-19. The theme being that nothing is too hard for the Lord. Something that we always need to keep front and center in our minds, to help us not to be enamored with the things of this world, but to set our mind and our gaze firmly fixed upon the Lord Jesus Christ. In that sermon, we were all encouraged to remember who God is. reflecting on His attributes and His work among His people. Our text told us that God is just and He shows steadfast love to the redeemed, but this also means at the same time that He judges the wicked for their sin. The call was for all of us to be found in Christ, coming to Him in repentance and faith and living our lives by faith while looking to the Lord in all of our circumstances. No matter what we face, With that said, I would like for us now to continue the second part of the preaching from Jeremiah 32, where we'll be focusing on verses 36-41. And tonight, just to give you an idea of where we're going, we're going to examine really the five blessings or benefits of the promised everlasting covenant. that come along with this new covenant, this glorious covenant of grace. And as you saw even just in our time reading it, there is so much in this chapter that we would need a series of sermons to even begin to touch the surface. So I pray that God would help me and help you, dear church, tonight as we open up His Word. Let's begin by reading in verse 36. Hear the words of the only true and living God. Now therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, it shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in my anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath, and I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely." They shall be My people, and I will be their God. Then I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear Me forever for the good of them and their children after them, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them doing them good, but I will put My fear into their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, And I will assuredly plant them in this land with all of my heart and with all of my soul. What a precious and beloved promise from our God who is in the heavens. The prophet Jeremiah was entrusted with this task of buying up this piece of land as we heard this morning. Before the incoming invasion and subsequent exile that Israel was to experience. We read that prayer in verses 17-19. We read his prayer when he was crying out to the Lord. crying out for Him to work mightily to keep good on His promise that He's given to His people, showing us that the prophet Jeremiah and all of His people must likewise trust in the Lord's power to fulfill each and every one of His promises. In this prayer, we felt the weight, didn't we? We felt that weight of what was taking place in the midst of God's people, and what He called this prophet to do. We can sense even His agony, His despair, as well as His anxiety for the future of Israel. We don't know, Lord, what this is going to look like, but we do know that You promised to bring us back. Nonetheless, Jeremiah obeyed the call of the Lord. He responded in faith and he cried out to the Lord in his prayer. In verses 23, we are told of this reason why the calamity is coming on the people of Israel. They, Israel, came in and took possession of the land, but they have not obeyed your voice or walked in your law. They have done nothing of all that you commanded them to do. Therefore, you have caused all of this calamity to come upon them. The calamity and this exile are upon the nation of Israel for their disobedience to the Word of the Lord. Why would anyone think that God would bless them when they refuse to heed to His commandments? This brings us now to verse 26. Look there where the Lord responds to the prayer of the prophet Jeremiah. In this response, we read what is about to happen to the nation of Israel. Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?" Therefore thus says the Lord, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he shall take it. And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come and set fire to this city and burn it with the houses on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods to provoke me to anger. And then finally, verses 30 through 36 speak of the sins of the people recounting their unfaithfulness to God in the Old Covenant. How God was so faithful to them, but yet these people were obstinate, stiff-necked, and refused to heed to the counsel of God. But beloved, here is a principle tonight for us to learn. While man is unfaithful, God always remains faithful. Part of resting and having faith in God and His promises is to remember that we serve a God who makes covenant and keeps covenant. He is faithful, He will never go back on His promises, and He is the Lord of covenantal faithfulness. So now put your eyes upon verse 36 as we get into our text. Now therefore, thus says the Lord the God of Israel concerning this city which you say shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence." Talk about bad news, right? Here is the bad news that comes immediately to us in verse 36. We have a detailed version of the story of the certainty of God's promise for this incoming invasion. And this was not something that was anything to be taken light. This was a serious matter where many would probably be killed as they're dragged from their homes and taken out into this land of exile. This invasion would occur, it says, by sword, by famine, by pestilence. The city had been given into the hands of the king of Babylon, the people of Israel to be driven out of this land for their faithlessness to the old covenant. The Lord gave Israel there in the old covenant a conditional one. The covenant was conditioned upon Israel's obedience to which Israel did not comply. Verses 30-35 inform us of what the sons of Israel were guilty of. The sons of Israel and Judah. They had been only doing evil. That's something, isn't it? To be described as someone who only does evil. The wickedness of man. They provoked the Lord to anger by the works of their hands. They had turned their back to the Lord, it says, promoting all kinds of false worship and wickedness. Verse 34, but they set their abominations in the house which is called by My name to defile it. They profaned the temple of the Lord. And they built the high places of Baal, where they are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I did not command them, nor did it come into My mind that they should do this abomination to cause Judah to sin." Here we have false worship. Participants of evil. Detestable things in the house of the Lord. Sacrificing children upon the altars of the worship of self. Sounds familiar to our culture, doesn't it? These were the sins of the people of Israel. They were disobedient and they profaned the covenant which the Lord God had made with them. This shows us really, and we need to take note of the deficiencies that were in the Old Covenant itself. The Old Covenant really could never truly affect the heart. What was needed was a new and better covenant. The people needed something greater to happen. They needed a spiritual rebirth. They needed to be given new hearts that desired to worship the Lord and to obey Him as He prescribed there. They needed God's help to keep them faithful to Him. The Spirit dwelling within them. The disobedience of these people and their profanation of the covenant shows to us that there were so many unregenerate people in this covenant. You could be a member of the old covenant and yet not know the Lord experientially and salvifically through the covenant of grace. However, as we will see even in the midst of this judgment, As the Lord tends to do, He provides a promise, hope for His people. He provides hope to the remnant, to those who have ears to hear, that He will gather His people and make a new and everlasting covenant with them. Look now in verse 37, Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger and My fury and in My great wrath. I will bring them back to this place and I will cause them to dwell safely. What an abrupt transition from the bad news to the good news. What a stark contrast between these two realities. We saw the power of God and the judgment of sin earlier in the chapter. But here, until the end, we will see the power of God and the salvation of sinners. Here is an echo of what was previously mentioned in Jeremiah 23.3, Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to My pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. Not just from Babylon will the Lord God gather the remnant His people, but from all the lands of the earth, from the four corners, Every nation, tongue and tribe will God gather His people. This was pointing to something greater than just the old covenant. This was pointing to something greater than just the theocratic nation of Israel. This was pointing to the everlasting new covenant and the promise that God would take this glorious gospel to the ends of the earth. As John Calvin says here, but as it has been said elsewhere, whenever the prophets prophesied the return of the people, they extended what they taught to the whole kingdom of Christ. For liberation from exile was no more than the beginning of God's favor. God began the work of true and real redemption when He restored His people to their own country. But He gave them but a slight taste of His mercy. This prophecy then, with those which are like it, ought to be extended to the kingdom of Christ. There is something quite different with this new covenant, isn't there? Something very starkly, markedly different to this new covenant as opposed to the old. The new covenant is everlasting, it's unconditional, and intended for all of those who have faith in the promise of Genesis 3.15 that the seed of the woman would come to crush the serpent. This new covenant is not intended for unbelieving Israel. Rather, it is intended for the remnant. For those of the household of faith. Looking now to verse 38, as the text reads there, They shall be my people and I will be their God. And so here we have really the first of the five blessings we're going to examine tonight from this everlasting covenant. And that first blessing is this covenantal relationship that God extends to His people. They shall be my people and I will be their God. This language is covenantal. Here we have a reiteration of the new covenant. The language that is being employed is more than just a reference to the return of the nation of Israel to a physical place. This language is covenantal language. Turn back now one chapter with me to Jeremiah 31. Perhaps there the most crucial thing, and in this passage, this text, and even looking at Jeremiah 31, the most crucial thing we need to understand and know in our day is that our God is a covenant making and keeping God. Our God makes and keeps covenants. Ultimately, this is given to us, His beloved people, the church, in the new covenant. And this is the covenant promise of God, the gracious gift of Himself. I will be your God and you will be my people. Jeremiah 31, 31. 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, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. And listen, I will put My law in their minds, and I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, No, the Lord! For they all shall know Me from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity and their sin. I will remember no more." Notice that the new covenant is, in fact, new. Not a newer version or a dimension of the old covenant. It is completely separate. This new covenant is not like that covenant of old. Verse 32 tells us this new covenant has particular benefits and blessings that the old covenant did not have. The law of the Lord will be within all of the members of the household of this covenant. The Lord says, I will be their God and they shall be my people. The exact same language is found in Jeremiah 32-38 as we saw. Further, every member of this new covenant will know the Lord personally, relationally, and salvifically. For they will have their sins forgiven and He will remember them no more. They just don't rely on their neighbor to tell them something about God. They know God for themselves. They have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. These promises are not given to a nation, beloved, but to a people. They're given to God's people, His church, to all who repent of their sin and have faith in the Lord Jesus, in this promised everlasting covenant. Continuing now back to Jeremiah 32 and verse 9, as we arrive to the second blessing of this everlasting covenant, we read there in verse 39, then I will give them one heart in one way that they may fear Me forever for the good of them and their children after them. The second benefit and blessing of this everlasting covenant is God's gift of the new heart. Regeneration. The new birth. Then He says, I will give them one heart in one way. Flip over now to Ezekiel chapter 11. I want you to see this for yourselves. We're going to examine two passages there in Ezekiel. But Ezekiel 11 picks up and recounts the same idea for us. Ezekiel chapter 11 verses 19 and 20. There we read, then I will give them one heart, same language, and I will put a new spirit within them. And I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, 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. Flip over to Ezekiel 36. I know we read it this morning, but we need to see it again. Because when you step back and when you behold God's Word in a broad perspective, you're going to see these similar and same themes being repeated over and over again. Ezekiel 36 verse 26. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take out the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes. And you will keep My judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. And you shall be My people and I will be your God." Beloved, these are such important topics and themes and understandings that we need to glean from these passages. The prophets are not just repeating themselves for repetition's sake. They're repeating themselves because it's that important for God's people to understand these truths. Regeneration is the spiritual transformation in a person brought about by the Holy Spirit, which causes the individual to move from being spiritually dead to becoming spiritually alive. Taking that heart of stone out and putting in the heart of flesh. Regeneration is another way of talking about the new birth. the second birth, or being born again. According to Hodge's systematic theology, the word regeneration is used almost universally to refer to the instantaneous change from spiritual death to spiritual life. It is a spiritual resurrection, he says. Regeneration, further, is not something one does by their own will. It is entirely and completely the work of the Lord. We must maintain that. A dead man cannot make himself live. The Lord must regenerate a person, giving them new life. Remember the story of Lazarus. What did Jesus tell Lazarus? Come forth and he obeyed. The Lord Jesus didn't ask Lazarus if he wanted to come forth, if he wanted to live again. But Lazarus obeyed the voice of his chief shepherd when he called him to himself. The Bible speaks of this as a man receiving a new heart with new desires in one dedicated way. The one way is the way of the Lord. A love for His law, a love for His statutes. Due to the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, we can now obey God. Let's continue back to Jeremiah 32. We're now going to arrive to the third blessing. They're found in 39 and 40 of chapter 32. The third blessing of the everlasting covenant is the fear of the Lord. That they may fear me forever for the good of them and their children after them. We heard the repeated Phrase this morning, speaking of the children who would feel the effects of the judgment of their fathers who were in their wickedness and their sins. But now, we see that those who fear God, those who belong to Christ, they will experience good from Him, and also their children will reap the benefits. There is nothing greater than raising our children in the admonition and instruction of the Lord, setting the Gospel before them. Now we can't save them, it is entirely the work of the Lord, but as parents we have the solemn duty to preach Christ to our children so that they may experience the blessings and the benefits, so that they may too become members of this new covenant. But you children have also a duty and obligation to hear the Word of the Lord, not just sit passively and idly, but to respond in faith to God and His call. These things are for you too. The fear of the Lord is also placed in these new hearts. for the good and the good of our children. Excuse me, for our good and the good of our children. Jeremiah 32, 40 explains the source of this holy fear. It's not intrinsic to fallen man, but it's a divine benefit of the new covenant. As one has said, the fear of the Lord is not the same thing as the fear of harm from an enemy or other dangers. To be sure, all unregenerate people should have that kind of fear of their Creator. For His holiness will bring judgment upon all unrepentant people. Yet the fear of the Lord described in Proverbs 1.7 is the fear of a converted person. A reverent love that understands God's grace toward the sinner who trusts Christ and who wants to do what is pleasing to the Lord. This kind of fear recognizes the Lord's character and His holy love. But this is also the same kind of fear that draws near to Him as our Father who is in heaven. The fear of the Lord is given to us, the text says, for our good. Sometimes when someone does something for our good, we may not understand why. We may actually disagree with it in the moment. Think of some children who are out playing in the front lawn, near the street. They're having such a wonderful time, not a care in the world, enjoying every second of it. Then all of a sudden, the ball that they're playing with goes across the street. In that moment, little Billy darts out, makes a run for that ball. the same time this truck is coming, speeding down the side street. But just before Billy steps out onto the pavement, his father quickly grabs him up, saving him from that sure danger. Billy never saw the truck coming. And he asks his dad, why did you do this dad? Why did you not let me cross the street and get my ball? He doesn't understand, for he never saw the danger that was right there in front of him. But Billy's father understood. He understood that danger and he picked and rescued Billy up for his own good, his safety. Something Billy never would have saw coming. But in the same way, brothers and sisters, the Lord protects us. The fear of the Lord protects us, keeps us from sinning, keeps us from those dangers, keeps us from those sins that cling so closely to us. We are so quick, aren't we, to run headlong right into danger, into the very sin that will kill us. But God, in His grace for our good, keeps us close to Him by giving us a healthy fear of the Lord. This fear is not one that we can be afraid to not draw near, that we have to stand back. But this fear of the Lord is one that we respect and honor Him, but come to Him as our Father, remembering all that He's done for us. Next in verse 40 we read, And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good, but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. The fourth blessing of this everlasting covenant is this unconditional everlasting covenant. What do we mean here? Well, this is a covenant that is no longer conditioned upon obedience. This is a covenant that's conditioned upon Christ's obedience that He perfectly fulfilled in our place. And further, this is not just a temporary covenant given to a particular group of people in a particular land. This is an everlasting covenant that will be forever. God's people in their devotion to Christ in it. Fear of the Lord here is mentioned again, but the focus of verse 40 is on the nature of this unconditional everlasting covenant. As we've mentioned, a new type of covenant is promised throughout the prophets. This covenant is not like the old temporary covenant. This covenant is unconditional and everlasting. It is unconditional that the Lord will never turn away from those who are in covenant with Him. This is contrasted with the Old Covenant as we have seen, which was conditioned on the fulfillment of all the stipulations of the Covenant. The Old Covenant was structured in such a way that the operating principle was, do this and live. That was what was told to the nation of Israel. Do this, obey my voice, and live and receive the blessings. This implication was that though if the Covenant was not kept as the Lord had prescribed, then death, punishment, and separation were surely to follow. But in the New Covenant, contrast with that. The operating principle is, this has been done for you, now receive. This is the New Covenant. This New Covenant is made with all of those who truly belong to the house of God. The New Covenant does what the old was never designed to do. It takes away sins once and for all by the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The New Covenant is much better than the old. It has a better mediator, better promises, and it's everlasting. It never ends. And I want us to set our attention and our hearts on this truth in this moment. God promises to never turn away from His people as He did with those in the Old Covenant who broke that covenant. We need to believe and rest upon this truth tonight, church. Don't allow Satan to tell you that you can be lost, that you can lose your salvation, that Christ's work is not sufficient for those sins that you've committed. Christ's work is sufficient for every sin. And He will hold you. The Lord is the one who sustains you in this covenant. You do not sustain yourself. The new covenant is founded on the work of Christ. It does not depend on your ability to keep the covenant. And thank God for that. Numbers tells us that God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent. Has He said and will He not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good? The Lord promises to do all of His people good. All the members of the New Covenant, keeping them, sustaining them by His grace. Do you have, dear brother or sister, tonight this infallible assurance that God is with you and He will never leave you nor forsake you? It can be yours tonight by grasping a hold of this wonderful truth found in our passage. By faith, believe and rest, knowing that you are safely secure in the Redeemer's hands. The prophet Jeremiah picks up once more on the fear of the Lord, because it's important. The fear of the Lord is described here as what keeps all of the members of the New Covenant from ever turning away from the Lord. We must note here, once again, it's not our ability to keep ourselves in the Covenant, but it's the surety of the promise and the effectual nature of the work of Christ. that keeps us in covenant with Him. This is what we call the perseverance of the saints. Our confession of faith reads this way. It says this perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the decree of election flowing from the free and unchangeable love of God the Father. upon the efficacy of the merit and intercession of Jesus Christ, and union with Him, the oath of God, the abiding of His Spirit, and the seed of God within them, and the nature of the covenant of grace, from all which ariseth also the uncertainty and infallibility thereof." Remember the covenantal faithfulness of the Lord's church. He alone is faithful. He preserves us by His marvelous grace. You did not save yourself. Christ saved you and Christ will keep you there. If you're in Christ, you are secure in His hands. He is not done with you as we saw this morning. He will continue to work in you. And listen to what Jesus says in John chapter 10, My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me, and I give them eternal life. and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand." Do you believe this truth, your brother or sister? Is this your hope tonight? Let it be your hope, knowing that you are safely secure in the Redeemer's hands. Finally, we arrive to the fifth and final blessing. found in verse 41 of Jeremiah 32. There we read of the blessing and favor of the Lord. I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all of my heart and all of my soul. Here we see another wonderful benefit of this everlasting covenant. We receive the blessing in the favor of the Lord. Everybody wants this blessing in favor of God, don't they? Zephaniah 3.17, the Lord your God is in your midst. The Mighty One will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing. I don't know if you've ever stopped and thought about God rejoicing over His children, taking delight in them. That is a wonderful way to lift up our souls, to think about how God perceives us and looks at His wonderful children that He has saved. Sometimes we have this disposition towards God as only lawgiver. We're afraid to draw near. But here we see that with God's children, they are to understand that He is a Father who delights in them. He loves us and cares for us and wants to do us good. He rejoices over His children. The Lord looks down upon us with joy. He desires good, eternal good for each and every one of us. His blessing being upon His people. A father gives good gifts to his children, doesn't he? He loves them. He cares for them. Don't ever doubt the Father's love for His people. Don't be tempted to believe the lies of Satan that God does not love His children nor delight in them. Even we see in verse 42, for thus says the Lord, just as I have brought all this calamity on this people, so I will bring on them all the good that I have promised them. The Lord is using this exile to Babylon in order to do good to His people. And God always does good to His precious saints, His beloved children. And I love the end of verse 41, with all of His heart and all of His soul. As Charles Spurgeon said, see how God puts forth His whole heart to the work when He is blessing His people. When He forgives sins, it is with His whole heart and all of His soul. And so may we, with our whole heart and soul, repent of our sin, and then with all of our heart and soul, serve the Lord. Part of the Lord doing good to His people is the promise to faithfully plant them in the land. But here in the context of the everlasting covenant, the land that was in reference here was not just the promised land that the nation of Israel was to receive. We need to understand this has greater dimensions than that immediate land somewhere in the Middle East. The land that was in mind here is a heavenly one. the new heavens and the new earth and eternal dwelling, the promise of everlasting life. And here we see that the final blessing of this everlasting covenant that is recorded for us in this passage is the hope of heaven. That once we finish our race, all of those who are in Christ will go to be with the Lord for all of eternity. Look with me now to Hebrews chapter 11. I know that you, church, have been in Hebrews 11 for some time as your pastor has been preaching through it, but I think it would do us well to examine Hebrews 11 beginning in verse 8 again tonight. There in Hebrews 11 verse 8, the story of Abraham is put before us. By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith, he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he waited for the city which has foundations whose builder and maker is God." The lesson we must derive from this, dear church, is we must remember that this earth is not our home. And thank God it's not. The land for which we all await is the new heavens and the new earth. The ultimate fulfillment of this everlasting covenant. The heavenly Jerusalem. We are pilgrims in this world, just merely passing through. We are citizens belonging to another kingdom. Hebrews 13, 14, for here we have no lasting city. but we seek that city which is to come. We cannot cling so tightly to the things of this world, church. Our hope is in heaven. It's not here upon this earth. We must live with our minds set, fixed, our gazes upon the things above, not the things of this world which so easily distract us. And the Lord really is, through everything that's happened, is weaning us from a love of this world, isn't He? And at times it doesn't feel good. Our flesh doesn't like it. But the Lord is weaning us from the love of this world so that we would learn to trust Him more and to set our eyes further into the heavens where He is. It says 1 John 2.15 says, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in this world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world is passing away in the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever. Looking again to Hebrews 11 verse 13, picking back up on that end of the story. These all died in faith, speaking of all the saints who went before, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them. And they embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on this earth. Did you see that? Did you catch it? They were far off from these promises. They had not seen the fulfillment come to take place within them, but they embraced them, they received them, and they confessed them by faith. Verse 14, For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. Herein we see tonight, church, these wonderful blessings and benefits of this new covenant. The first question that we must all address and answer and deal with in our own hearts is, do I belong into this new covenant? Am I a member by faith, resting and receiving upon the work of Christ? Are you a member of this glorious new covenant? Have you forsaken your own way? Have you come to the Lord in true faith? Listen to the prophet Isaiah. Oh, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters. and you have no money, come buy and eat. Yes, come buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend money for what is not bread and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me and eat what is good and let your soul delight itself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to me. Here in your soul shall live and I will make an everlasting covenant with you. This is the word of the Lord. Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him. And to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. If you are in Christ tonight, these promises belong to you. They're yours. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust in Him. Believe in these things. Rest upon these things and look to Christ. Continue that race which has been set before you. The stewardship that you have to be faithful with all that's been entrusted to you. Set your eyes upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Finish that race well. Keep your eyes upon Christ and off of the things of this world. Because He is faithful, brothers and sisters. He will preserve us to the end. He will bring us to that heavenly kingdom. Now make your way to our last passage tonight as we conclude, Revelation 21. This is the last passage for us to behold together in our time. But kind of distilling all that we've heard tonight, we serve the God of the covenants. The God who makes covenant and keeps covenant. The God of covenantal faithfulness. You are here today, brothers and sisters, because you believe in the promises of God. And the good news is that He keeps His promises. And you are His people. And He is your God. You bear His name. You act like Him. You are to bear His image and to honor Him and reflect Him in all that you do. Your behavior is to be like Him, to be like your Father's behavior. With our whole lives, we are to bear the image of God. He is faithful in His covenant keeping. God is committed to His own people so much that He sent His only Son to ransom and save them from their sins. He loves His church, and in turn, His church ought to love Him unto obedience. Christ is glorious. He is the head of the church. He is committed to us. He loves us. He gave Himself up for us. He cares for us. So we ought to commit to Him, to this body, and to one another. We ought to show love, one for another, and love for Christ. We ought to urge one another to this love and good works. We ought to give ourselves up for one another. Jesus seals and guarantees this covenant with His own blood, and purchases not only eternal life for His covenant people, but He also gives them the faith and obedience they need. Jesus' faithfulness to the covenant of redemption is the guarantee that we have that our sins have been truly forgiven in Christ. So dear brother and sister, tonight you can leave this place saying, all of my sins are forgiven. There is no iniquity left upon me. I am forgiven in Christ. Revelation 21, one through seven, as we conclude our time tonight, Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, also there was no more seen. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. then God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death. nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then He who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. And He said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give of the fountain and the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my Son." Dear church, may we live in this reality that indeed we are the children of God. Let's pray. Father, how gracious and good You are to Your people. Lord, please stir up our hearts to the truth of Your Word. Give us a love for Christ that is more than anything in this world. Help us, Lord, to seek Your face, to draw near unto You and rest in these precious promises of this everlasting covenant. Thank You that You've adopted us into Your family, that we are the children of God. Lord, bless Your church here and bless Your people. And we pray these things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.