God has brought us into a new day of the better promises! We have a vast inheritance in the Lord that is just waiting for us. All God requires is that we believe being evidenced by our actions in faith – even taking the Kingdom of Heaven by force!
Out passionate faith makes a difference in obtaining His promises in our lives. May the Lord grant you a burning desire with a willing heart to apprehend all that He has for your life and those around you.
But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. Hebrews 8:6
I. Mercy in the New Covenant
It’s really important that we measure everything of the Old Testament to the New Testament promises – that we understand the New Testament blessings that we have. The Old Covenant is totally inferior to the new. While there’s some great stories in the Old Covenant, they don’t always apply to us in Christ, because we have something totally different, something much better.
We have better promises in Christ. This does not mean that we can’t glean parallels for life out of the O.T. stories – but then some stories of God’s judgement will just not apply to us today. An example would be “Korah’s Rebellion” against Moses. If you are familiar with that story, God’s judgements come against Korah for his presumption as he didn’t have respect for the position God had given Moses. The earth “swallowed him and many other up”.
And Moses said: “By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, for I have not done them of my own will. If these men die naturally like all men, or if they are visited by the common fate of all men, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord creates a new thing, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the pit, then you will understand that these men have rejected the Lord.”
Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all their goods. So, they and all those with them went down alive into the pit; the earth closed over them, and they perished from among the assembly. Then all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up also!” Numbers 16:28–34
II. The Blood of Jesus Cries “Mercy”
The lesson we glean from that is very applicable to our lives – that we need to respect those God has put in authority and not think more of ourselves than we should. But just as the blood of Jesus speaks a “better word” than the “blood of Abel” – this is where mercy triumphs over judgement. Just as the disciples wanted to call fire down out of heaven to consume others, they weren’t happy with, Jesus told them “You don’t know what spirit you are of.” Paul says that we are to leave this kind of judgement in God’s hands. We are to “bless those who curse us” – as Jesus said.
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Romans 12:19
When Jesus said to those crucifying Him, “forgive them Father, for they don’t know what they are doing”. (Luke 23:34) He released the mercy of God over generations of people as the Son of God – even previous generations. Jesus knew the real battle was with the devil. His goal was to do the Father’s will and in this was to bring many sons into the Kingdom.
For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. Hebrews 2:10
This does not mean people are not held accountable for their actions. But we are in a timeline of great grace where God gives us a lifetime to repent of our sins. Never underestimate the power of the blood of Jesus Christ. He paid the highest price for the highest level of mercy.
III. A Superior Covenant
New covenant promises encompass and are superior to the O.T. promises (which are great!) including the promises of Abraham, blessings of Deuteronomy 28 and more. It’s like the OT promises on steroids, as the law and the prophets are totally fulfilled in Christ – removing guilt, an evil conscience and judgement from our lives with an accompanying overflow of grace and mercy!
David was an OT man but actually tasted of this grace and mercy prophetically seeing it in advance as he had his own missteps. Why? He had a living and real relationship with God – knowing the way into His Presence.
IV. A Kingdom Mindset
When the prodigal son came home to his father, the father blessed him with the robe, right, shoes and a feast. And that’s what God does, he blesses us with a robe of righteousness, the ring of authority, and then lays out a feast of inheritance for us.
The elder son was mad an upset. The father said to the other son, listen, everything I’ve had, it’s always been there for you. You could have accessed it at any time. The problem with the elder son is he became religious as he represented the religious systems of Jesus’ day and ours. He had an Old Covenant mindset. Because of this he didn’t access all the father had for him. That’s what happens to people caught up in “Christian religion” today when they don’t have an understanding of the Kingdom of God. It just becomes another religion.
In the New Covenant we can access all these things. It’s all available to us. We don’t want to be religious. We want to have a depth of relationship with the Lord where we see the reality of God. Jesus did not come to bring religion. He came to bring the Kingdom of God. That is where the righteousness, peace and joy is realized for our lives. That’s where His provision is. Jesus said, “Seek ye first,” not the Lord. He said, “The Kingdom of God and His righteousness all these things shall be added to you.” (Matt. 6:33)
Obviously in this we seek the Lord. He was being specific about that about the Kingdom because it’s a Kingdom mindset that’s going to access the inheritance that He has for us. This is the Kingdom we’ve been brought into. We have not been brought into a religion. We’ve been brought into Christ – Who is a Person – even in the Person of the Holy Spirit.
In the Book of Acts, He said to his disciples, “Wait till you receive the Holy Spirit.” That’s the reality of the Kingdom. Christ in us the hope of glory, in the person of the Holy Spirit.
Access everything in your inheritance today – In Jesus Name! Amen.
John Belt
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