We turn to Jeremiah, Jeremiah the 31st chapter. Jeremiah chapter 31, we've been in it for a few weeks, and that's a good thing. I don't know, I guess most of y'all already know, not everybody knows so I'm going to say it again, but when we took up the love offering last Wednesday night, and it was a spur of the moment when we took up that love offering for everybody here, But when we took that love offering up, it was for Crystal Grimes, and she was in need as far as with an electrical bill. We normally don't do bills for people, but this was a member who was a former member, and she was disciplined by us quite a few years ago, and yet still maintaining contact. Brother Wayne wanted me to tell how much the bill was, and I said, no, let's see how God works. And what I want to give thanks for is how God works. The bill was $126. We took up $126. And you don't get more accurate than that. And the amazing thing is I didn't share that with anyone. But God knows the need. And what I want to kind of express is that for those who gave, You know, God was working in your heart. And for those who could not give, God was working in your heart, too, to meet the need right down to the T. So don't feel bad if you didn't give, and don't feel great that you did give. It was God meeting the need through His people. And that's exciting to see God working. Just boom. I mean, a perfect fit. So thankful for that. And she was made aware of how the Lord handle that need. So in Jeremiah chapter 31, what we've been looking at in Jeremiah, we've looked at Jeremiah 31 for a couple of weeks now, and I got kind of stuck on verse 3 there, I think it was. And as a matter of fact, if I were to read it again, I'd probably get stuck on it again. A great one to get stuck on. That everlasting love of God that He's loved us with and loved us even before the foundation of the world, even before we were formed in the womb. God loved you, and you know what? He continues to love you. No matter how goofy you've done, how many goof-ups you've done, how many times you stumble, God's love is faithful, is consistent, and He's going to continue on loving us. And we're so thankful for that. And that kind of love, what it does, it draws us to Him, and it causes us to be obedient unto Him. And that's part of what's in the chapter later on, how God's love and the work that He's done, it causes us to desire to serve Him and love Him all the more. Now, the way Jeremiah has been writing, it shows us how God deals with people throughout all generations. God's ways are consistent. The way He dealt with His people in Israel back in those times when Jeremiah was prophesying, you know what? God deals with His people in the same way today. And that's almost like, wow, you know what, we need to be cautious here. Because if you think about all the abortions since Roe v. Wade, we're talking about millions. You know what, God's judgment is consistent. Here's the homosexual deal passed. You know what? God's judgment is consistent. And the thing is that God's judgment does not always come right when we think it should come. It's going to come though. There's no doubt about that. We know that in life and the experiences that we've experienced, sin always brings its own results. Sin always has circumstances. You may be forgiven of the sin, but there are always circumstances that come along with those sins. There's results that come from sinning. In Jeremiah 31, I want you to notice what it says in verse 27. In verse 27, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel, and the house of Judah, with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict, so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the Lord. Now, before Jeremiah even gave this prophecy, you remember at the beginning of the book, in chapter 1 and verse 10, Jeremiah was told this, See, I have set thee this day over the nations, over the kingdoms, to root out, to pull down, to destroy, to throw down, to build, and to plant. And he was already told that's what he was going to do, and here it is, it is Israel and Judah that's going to be tore down and basically destroyed, thrown down, broken down, afflicted. But you know what? It's God that's doing it. God's watching over that throwing down, that judgment that's coming down. God was watching over them, but He was also watching over them because He was planning on building, He was planning on planting. That's what God's plan was. Now look in verse 29 and 30. In verses 29 and 30, I want you to notice what the Word of God says. In those days, they shall say no more, the fathers have eaten a sour grape. And the children's teeth are set on edge. Anybody ever had a sour grape? We can put it in another term. If you haven't had a sour grape, what was them nasty things that you had or Connor had that was... Some tasted, you know, like little candies that you... Yeah, the little jelly beans that tasted like... One was dirt, and one was worm, and one was dog mess, and something else, and they all had the nasty taste to it. I remember that you'd get a good one every now and then. sharing this likening to, it's like when you eat one of those and if you have a child, it's the child that puckers up to it. You understand what I'm saying? It's kind of like if you eat the sour grape, then your kid sees you eat the sour grape and they go, it's like they ate the sour grape. So here is like an old proverb back in Israel in that day and time. In those days they shall say no more. The fathers have eaten the sour grape and the children's teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity. Every man that eats the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. Now what is this proverb talking about? I want you to notice back in Exodus chapter 20. In Exodus, the 20th chapter, notice what it says down in verse 5. In verse 5, Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me." In other words, they took this passage of Scripture and they said, God punishes children for the father's sins. And because He punishes the children, they had this proverb, when the father ate the sour grape, the children had the puckered lip. So they believed that they were being punished for their father's sins. Remember, they're gone off into exile. They're captives. They're in captivity. And while they're there, they thought they were being unjustly punished for the sins of previous generations. Therefore, God says, every man shall die for his own sins. Every man that eats the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge." It's not going to be the children or somebody else that's paying for your sin. Everyone who breaks God's covenant will suffer God's judgment. It's basically what Jeremiah was saying. Now, you think about it, in our day and time, everyone who breaks God's covenant is under judgment. Think about the United States. You remember, yeah, I don't know when's the last time I've said this. Maybe you can remember the last time you said this. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God. You know, it's an allegiance, and it's a pledge of allegiance under God. The states are under God. Now, you know what? If we break covenant, we deserve God's judgment. What is a covenant? A covenant, if you were to put it into terms, if you break that Hebrew word down, what it literally means, it means to cut. And back in the day and time in the Old Testament when there was a sacrifice to be given, they had that sacrifice cut down the middle and the two parties that entered into a covenant would pass through those cut pieces. That's where you get the word covenant from, they cut covenant. Now, some people would define it as a contract or an agreement between two or more people. There's one definition I read. It said it's a relationship rooted in God's initiative. This is what God's covenant is, a relationship that's rooted in God's initiative and what He has done for His people, but it looks for a response from the people. Now, the old covenant was continually broken. In the Old Testament, you read time and time again how God's people broke covenant. Why did they keep breaking covenant? It's because of the issue of sin. They were not obedient. They played the spiritual adulteress and they continually broke covenant with God. Jeremiah, what he does, he condemns Israel. He doesn't condemn the Old Covenant. Notice what it says in verse 30, 31 or in verse 29, 30. Once again, it talks about each person's going to have to answer for their own sins. So everybody's accountable for their own sins. But when it comes right down to it, everybody is a covenant breaker. Everyone breaks God's covenant. Therefore, everyone is cursed or under the judgment of God for their own sins. Their own sin. In verse 31, when you reach this passage of Scripture, it's the only time in the Old Testament where God speaks concerning the new covenant that's promised. Notice what it says in verse 31, 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. God is promising a new covenant. And within this new covenant, there are promises that are going to be made. Now, I want you to listen to some of these promises that are made. In verse 32, It says, 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. In other words, he likens it unto a marriage covenant. And Israel, as the bride, played the whore. And she broke covenant with them, with God. But there is reconciliation that's promised in verse 31. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I'm going to make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with Judah. There's going to be reconciliation. It's what God is saying. Now, you know what? This is something that's promised in chapter 3 in verse 17 at the beginning of the book. It's also promised in chapter 50 in verses 4 and 5 at the end of the book. And here, God says He's going to reconcile His people. Now, ultimately, this was fulfilled at the coming of Jesus Christ. Now, you know what we are called? As ambassadors of God. And what do we do? We encourage people to be reconciled to God. Here what we have, God's going to have a covenant people. But these are a new covenant people. And this new covenant people, they're going to be from every tribe, every nation, every tongue. You know what? Color of your skin's not going to matter. If you're a male or a female, it's not going to matter. It doesn't matter if you're from Russia or from China. This new covenant crosses all barriers as far as cultural barriers. God is in the ministry of reconciliation, reconciling his people unto himself. And then there is regeneration promise. Notice what it says in verse 33. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts. I will be their God and they shall be my people." There is going to be a new covenant that's going to start on the inside and work its way out. The old covenant was the outward covenant. Trying to fulfill that, they could not do it. God says that He's going to make this covenant and put the law in the inward parts. Now, you know what? He's going to write His law upon their heart. Now, I want you to notice what's already written on their heart. Turn back to chapter 17. In chapter 17, look down in verse 1. The Word of God says the sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron and with the point of a diamond. It's graven upon the table of their heart. What's on their heart? Written on their heart. And upon the horns of their altar. It's the sin of Judah. There's sins written all over their heart. But God's going to write something different upon their heart. It's what He's promising in verse 32 back in chapter 31. He's going to write His covenant upon their heart in verse He's going to put His law in their inward part. You know what? Isn't that what God's done to us as believers? Behold, old things are passed away and all things have become new. The Old Covenant is not abolished. Christ did not come to take away the Old Covenant, but to fulfill it. So Christ fulfilled the Old Covenant. the work of the Holy Spirit. I want you to notice how this is a work of the Spirit. Look in Hebrews chapter 10. In Hebrews the 10th chapter, the writer to the Hebrews, what he does, he quotes from Jeremiah. And notice what it says in chapter 10 and verse 15. whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us, for after that he had said before." Here's what the Holy Spirit said. This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them, and their sins and iniquities I will remember no more. It is the Spirit of God that's doing this work within the heart. causing the person who is now a believer to have the law of God written within their heart. It's kind of like what we said, like I gave Matt as an illustration of how, boy, how his life's changed and how he's bearing witness to truth now. You know what? He didn't have anything to do with that before. He said, I used to sin, didn't think nothing about it. And sometimes I just sinned because I didn't even know I was sinning. Sometimes I sinned and I just didn't even care. But now the law of God is written in his heart. The old covenant, obedience, was stipulated as a condition. In the new covenant, what we have, obedience is promised. Once you become a believer in Jesus Christ and you've turned from your sins, God promises that we're going to obey. Now, that's quite a bit different. We will keep His commandments. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. How are we going to keep His commandments? Because His Spirit's working within our hearts, writing the law of God within our hearts. You know what? We're more sensitive to sin now that we've come to know Jesus Christ. than before we knew Jesus Christ. We have a lot more sensitivity to sin. Here, obedience is promised in the New Covenant. Notice the possession in verse 33 in the latter part. God says, I will be their God and they shall be my people. I will be their God, they're going to be my people. Here is union and co-union. We commune with God because He is our God. He communes with us because we are His people. He communes with us through His Word. We commune with Him through prayer. We commune with one another and we fellowship one with another. And you know what? Our communion is with Jesus Christ. That's why we have such communion with one another. It's all because of what Christ has done. There is fellowship. Notice God makes Himself known in verse 34. They shall 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 to the greatest, saith the Lord. In other words, once you come to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you don't need to come to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior again, like Sister Becky said with her brother. Once you come to know the Lord, you don't have to come to know the Lord again. You need to know Him more deeply. You need to grow with Him, learn more of Him. But you know what? You don't need to be witnessed to again. You don't need to be evangelized again. You don't need to be saved again, quote-unquote. You know, we believe once you have truly trusted Christ and your life is changed, you know what? That's a permanent change. He dwells within us. There is eternal security in knowing that. Every believer knows the Lord. Now, at the end of time, all are going to know the Lord. Every knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess. Notice another promise here in the latter part of verse 34. I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no more. What a covenant promise that is! God's promising forgiveness of your sins. Now, you know what? That's something everybody needs. Because the conviction and the guilt of sin drives some people crazy. It drives them bonkers. And hear what God promises His people. Not only that you come to know Him, but He's going to forgive your sins, and He's not going to remember them anymore. He's going to completely take care of them. And you know what? That was established by the work of Jesus Christ upon the cross. Look in Hebrews chapter 8 once again. In Hebrews chapter 8 and down in verse 6, Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 6, the Word of God says this, But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry by how much Also he is a mediator of a better covenant which was established upon better promises, for if the first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. But notice where the fault was. It wasn't with the covenant. For finding fault with them, he said, Behold, the days come, saith 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 which I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt, because they continued not in my covenant, I regarded them not. saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their mind. and write them in their hearts, and will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people." In verse 13, in that he saith, a new covenant he hath made, the first old. Now that which decays and waxes old is ready to vanish away. Here is that new covenant we have with Christ, and that new covenant in Christ has dealt with the problem of sin. Whereas the Old Testament saints could not keep the covenant, Christ Jesus has taken care of the sin problem, which was the hindrance of people keeping the covenant. This covenant also is an everlasting covenant in verses 35 through 37. Thus saith the Lord, which gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinance of the moon and the stars for a light by night, which divides the sea with the waves, thereof and roar, the Lord of hosts is his name. If those ordinances depart before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever. Thus saith the Lord, if heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord." In other words, that's not going to happen. God's covenant is in place. And God's covenant is an everlasting covenant. And how we are in that covenant is because Christ kept the old covenant, and by keeping the old covenant, It's accredited to us, the righteousness of Christ. We are in the new covenant because we are in Christ. Now, notice finally, in the latter part of these verses, verse 38 through 40, we'll close with that, here is a building up. And the word of God says, Behold, the day is come, saith the Lord, that the city shall be built to the Lord from the tower of Hananiel unto the gate of the corner, and the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gerab, and shall compass about to Goeth. Now here, if you were to look up, and we're not going to take the time, over in Nehemiah chapter 3 and verse 1, and in verse 28, it talks about these boundaries here. It was fulfilled, as far as an earthly fulfillment, with Nehemiah building these boundaries. And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the Lord. It shall not be plucked up nor thrown down anymore forever." Now, you know what here is talking about? The place where they offered sacrifices of babies to Molech and these false gods. And this place where all these dead bodies were, it was going to become holy unto the Lord. Now, you know what? There is that fulfillment as far as an earthly fulfillment, but one day there is going to be that spiritual fulfillment. Listen to what the Word of God says in Revelation chapter 21 in verse 2. I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for a husband. You know what? He is building a city. It's a new Jerusalem. You know, one day we're going to all be there. We'll be forever with the Lord. There's so much promises in that New Covenant. And Jeremiah is given a glimpse of that New Covenant in the Old Testament. I find it very fascinating in that little passage of Scripture. Jeremiah is the only one who mentions the New Covenant is coming. You know what? We are all part of that New Covenant because we're in Christ. We have much to rejoice in and give thanks unto the Lord for. Let's have a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for your holy word and the promises that are in there concerning the new covenant. We are so thankful for our Lord Jesus Christ fulfilling that old covenant. And Lord, that through him we have peace with you and forgiveness of sins. We're accepted in him. Lord, we're so thankful for your covenant promises. and how you've written your law in our hearts. And Lord, how even within our own hearts we sense knowing right and wrong and how to please you and glorify your name. So we ask that you work in us and work through us mightily by your word into the lives of others that they might experience your covenant blessings also. Be glorified amongst us for Christ's sake. Amen.