Today's Passage - Hebrews 8:11-13

Hebrews 8:11-13   No longer will they teach their neighbor,  or say to one another, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.  For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.   The Lord wants to give us a new heart and new spiritual.  Old Testament laid out the commandments on the outside, but the New Testament is the new heart and spirit inside us.  New heart is a heart of completeness, and a heart of softness that is prepared for God's Kingdom.  Our hearts used to be hearts of stone and the rules of law were written on the stone.  Can you imagine having a stone hitting stone?  Nothing would come out except for sparks.  The new heart created by God, however, is soft, and His laws can be placed inside it.  That's why the Lord said "they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest."  God's word has been placed deep inside our hearts, thus Book of Jeremiah says that God will place the law inside people and right on their hearts so that they will have the will and thoughts of God.  No matter what the circumstance is, they will know the best thing to do and what not to do.  Hallelujah!   This is our hope in the New Testament era.  If we are judged according to our own effort, even the holiest characters in the Bible would not pass by obeying the law alone.  God asks us to obey His commandments, but we will say "I can't help it, I'm too weak, and you know I've tried!"  Lord says: "I didn't ask you to try!  I will put my spirit inside you so that you can obey and follow my rules."  That's the spirit of the New Testament!  Some think that Old Testament and New Testament are two separate books, but actually Old Testament is the letters and New Testament is the Holy Spirit and life.  We have new life and new spirit inside us so that we can follow His commandments and rules.   Ne w Testament is the life revealed from the Holy Spirit.  Even though we are living in the New Testament time, some are still living in the Old Testament time inside.  It's like in a developing country, before people had tap water they had to dig wells to get water; once they have tap water,  they no longer need to dig wells by their own strength.  Many of us already have access to tap water, but they still live the life digging wells, and that depicts how many believers are living today.  May God have mercy on us, since we have already been released from the bondage of Old Testament laws and are no longer dominated by it, we can enter the abundance and deliverance of the New Testament today.  Let us always live out the new heart and new spirit that God has given us!   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, I thank you because you have already led us from Old Testament time to New Testament time.  Let us no longer rely on our own efforts, but rather help us to live out your life.  May God's spirit help us, give us a soft heart so that we'd be willing to live by the Holy Spirit, obey your guidance, and live out the life of Jesus Christ.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!     Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!