If you’ve ever been to a church service before, you have probably heard the old analogy preached “how often do you eat? More than once, right? So you should feed your spirit more than once as well.” This is an often-used statement which highlights the importance of continual spiritual feeding – it’s also a good analogy, quite Biblical in-fact… however the Bible does not stop there. The scriptures are very clear about what – or I should say who we are to continually feed on.
What we will be studying today, is what exactly the scriptures say about feeding on Jesus, how this feeding occurs and how feeding continually on Jesus benefits us. God does not leave any of these details out, because He wants us to know and receive all that He has given to us. So if your spirit has been hungry, or even if you don’t realize that it has been, come, taste and see that the LORD is good, and let’s feed on Jesus today.
One of the issues that keep resurfacing in Christian circles today is covenants. Many believers still do not have a fundamental grasp of which covenant they are under today in Christ, or why they cannot have both Mosaic and the Messianic covenants (The Law and Grace). It's interesting to note that while there were many different covenants in the Bible, only the Law of Moses, only the Mosaic Covenant has seemed to persist and be a point of confusion and an area of stumbling for many believers today. Of-course this is not a coincidence, Satan knows all too well, that the strength of sin is the Law which brings about the sting of death as mentioned in 1st Corinthians 15:56. As long as the enemy can keep believers in confusion about their place and position in Christ Jesus, then they will always be weak and vulnerable due to plain and simple ignorance of the truth. And God does not want that.
That's why in this study today, we will be taking an in-depth look at the covenant which we are under today, the Messianic Covenant of Grace in Christ, and we will also be addressing the common areas of confusion that many believers have today regarding the Mosaic Covenant of the Law and how it relates to us today in Christ. By seeing these truths, you will be set free from confusion, able to freely enjoy the Covenant which Jesus has placed you in today.
In John 18:38. Pilate asks a question in talking with Jesus… the question is 'What is truth?' It is a question that many people are searching for an answer to today. The scriptures record that Pilate did not wait around to hear what Jesus' response would be. Now if you were to ask this question today, depending on who you ask, you will get a large number of differing responses or opinions. Even among church-folk. Some people will say simply that the Bible is truth; and there is nothing wrong with that answer, though it's generic. There are some today who believe that the Law is the truth that balances out Grace, as if Grace and truth are counter-measures for each-other; even though the scriptures say in John 1:17 that Grace and Truth go together and both came by Jesus Christ.
What we will be studying today is what real Biblical truth is, the way that Jesus defines it. In seeing His own divine descriptions of truth, we will get a better understanding and revelation of Him and how as He Himself said 'the truth will make us free'.
What is the purpose of the Bible? Some say that it is a rulebook; a set of “do's” and “don'ts” on how to live; others see it as a guideline for self-improvement. Some see it as a mysterious book filled with codes and deep hidden secrets of the world; others say that it is purely a work of fiction with no significance at all. I see the Bible as something entirely different than all of these ideas… I see the Bible as a love letter – a love letter to you – from the Creator of the Universe. A love letter designed to not only show you the Creator of the Universe and everything in it, but to unveil to you His heart and His passion for you, and His desire to reconcile you to Himself and share in a personal relationship.
Some people have a hard time accepting this idea. They see God as a distant being up in the sky, who is either not interested in the world at all, or so busy dealing with the events and troubles of the world that He could not possibly have time for us on an individual basis; however nothing could be further from the truth. The word “Bible” simply means books, but what's so special about this particular collection of books? What's so different about the Holy Scriptures?
I have already mentioned that I see the Bible differently from most people… I see it as a love letter. Now ultimately the greatest expression of love is to lay down your life for the one you love. To save someone, even at the expense of yourself; and this is exactly what God has done, through Jesus. Throughout the Old Testament writings (what the Jewish people call the Tanakh) there are prophecies – prophecies of the Anointed One of God, the Messiah (Mashiah) who will come to redeem and save His people. This is an action done purely from love, from a desire not to destroy, but to save.
You may have heard it said before that Christianity is different than all the religions of the world. It is a true statement, but do you know why it is true? One of the ways that Christianity is fundamentally different is that in all the religions of the world, man is reaching for God; either through good works, or other forms of self-effort in an attempt to attain an elevated status.
This is not so with Christianity. Now unfortunately, Christianity (and the message of Jesus Christ) has been vastly misrepresented by pastors and leaders who have twisted the message into one of self-effort and works, but this is not the message that God originally gave. So today we will be exploring how in reality, it is not man that reaches for God, but how He actually reaches for us, and as we see this, it will not only strengthen our faith, but draw us closer to Him as well.