Pastor’s corner 4/7/11

Believing God’s ‘I wills’

If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it.

But when God found fault with the people, he said: “The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.”

You may be feeling stressed at work today because your boss just gave you a list of things to do. Maybe he told you, “You have to type this letter. You have to meet this client. You have to write this report. You have to do this, or you have to do that, etc.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if your boss had, instead, said, “I will type this letter for you. I will meet this client for you. I will write this report for you. I will!”?

Well, your boss may not be that gracious, but your Father in heaven is! When He found fault with the old covenant and established the new covenant in His Son’s blood, His “Thou shalls” became “I wills”.

Hebrews 8:10, 12

But this is the new covenant I will make

with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord:

I will put my laws in their minds,

and I will write them on their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they will be my people

And I will forgive their wickedness,

and I will never again remember their sins.

You see, under the old covenant, the focus is on you — Thou shall not Thou shall not Thou shall not. It is all about your performance, your obedience, your works.

But under the new covenant, God says, “I will put My laws in their mind I will be their God I will be merciful to their unrighteousness of their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

It is no longer you working for God, but God working for you, in you and through you!

“Isn’t there something for me to do?” you may ask.

Friends, the only thing for you to do is to believe God’s “I wills”. The more you believe His “I wills” or promises, the more you will see His heart for you and the more your faith will grow.

It is foolish for me to just tell you, “Come on, man, have faith!” You will still find it hard to have faith because I am not giving you anything to build faith in you.

But if I were to tell you all about what God says He will do for you, faith will rise up in your heart. Faith is a response to knowing what God says He will do for you.

So the best thing you can “do” under the new covenant is to not focus on what you must do for God, but what God says He will do for you!

What a great reminder of the grace He has poured out on all of us who have received the fragrance of the name of Jesus.

Imagine Jesus coming into the room you’re in right now, and He’s carrying this great big bucket. It’s filled with all of God’s “I Will’s” for your life. And He wants to pour them out all over anyone who will receive His name.

Is that you today? Then lift your hands and look up to the Lord and begin praying “I receive.”

Ken McNaughton, pastor

Community Bible Church