What is the Renewed Covenant?

***Here is a disclaimer before you read this. I am not pointing out any one's transgression in this post or attempting to make anyone feel guilty. I am simply sharing what I have learned and how it has personally blessed me in my life. I will go before my Adonai personally and give an account for my life, alone, as you will one day too. We all are responsible for our own choices so lets not judge one another, but seek to learn from one another. I am presenting what I personally believe to be hidden in plain site "meat". If you find some bones, spit them out. But really look at the Word, all of it and you might be very surprised what you learn. I am not perfect and I make mistakes and like everyone else I am learning. Adonai bless you! Humbly, More than a Conqueror***

Many believers say that they are under the "new covenant" and that the "old covenant" has passed away, meaning according to many, that everything before the book of Matthew is just interesting reading material and none of it is applicable now that Yahshua our Messiah(Jesus) has come. Nothing could be further from the truth. Or they will say that they don't need to follow the instructions (Torah) because that is just law and we are not under that. Can I tell you that the law Yahshua refers to in a negative sense in the new testament is the teachings and traditions of men and not the Torah. Specifically the oral rabbinical law, but it could apply to some men's teachings today very easily as well. When Yahshua referred to the scriptures was He referring to the new testament? No, it hadn't even been written yet. When Paul referenced scripture was he referring to the new testament? No, again, it had not been written yet. Yahshua, Paul and all the apostles refer back continually to the Torah, the Writings and the Prophets. Did Yahsua come to abolish the Torah? No. Yeshua (Jesus) was a Torah observant, tallit-wearing, Seventh Day Sabbath and Biblical Feast-keeping, kosher Jew as was Paul and the other apostles! Are you saved by doing these things, no. However, in obedience there is blessing. Personally, and this is just me, I want to be like Jesus and do what he did! That is very exciting to me.

Yahshua said in Matthew 5: 17 "Don't think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. 18 Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah - not until everything that must happen has happened. 19 So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and P'rushim, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven!"

Lets first examine the word "new covenant". In Hebrew the words used here are B'rit Chadasha or Hadasha. The word Brit means covenant. A covenant is an a formal sealed agreement, contract or promise. A marriage is a covenant. What the Hebrew people had with Yahweh in the book of Exodus was in effect a marriage covenant in a spiritual sense. Both Aramaic "khawdata" and Hebrew "chadasha" mean to renew, make anew or to repair. So a more accurate translation from the text would be a "Renewed Covenant." So if something is renewed, repaired or made to look like new are you starting over or are you using material that was previously there? Obviously the old has not been done away with but renewed.

During Shavuot, which means "weeks", Yahweh gave his people the Torah. As a Groom gives a bride, it was conditions of their covenant (marriage) as a people and an Elohim (God). This was the original Pentacost and Yahweh wanted to meet with his people, but out of fear His people refused to meet with Him and instead sent Moses up the mountain. Read Exodus 34 and Deuteronomy 16 to get a better understanding of this particular Feast of the Lord.

So the people took Yahweh to be their Elohim and Yahweh took the people to be his people or if you will His bride. When you marry your husband or wife does anything go? Can you run around with another man or woman? Are you supposed to dishonor them? Do you submit one to another or do you behave as a single person? Are there any conditions or requests that you honor? You would be fooling yourself if you said no. If you took the same vows that I did when I was married, then there were certain promises that you made. There was an agreement when you were married, a covenant if you will, and depending on what faith you were married in this can be very specific or very broad, but none the less it is something that you agreed to on your wedding day and hopefully you keep in your marriage. The marriage ceremony itself contains some pretty good instructions for a good marriage. If you break that covenant or ignore the instructions for marriage you might cause disharmony and in the worst case scenario you and your spouse might divorce. This agreement that God's people made with Yahweh was contained in the Torah. Yahweh later divorced his people in a sense. Read the book of Hosea to better understand how and why this occurred and what Adonai planned to do to remedy the situation.

So what happened to break the covenant? I am going to answer that very simply, but I do recommend you study 1 and 2 Kings, Jeremiah and Hebrews. Yahweh considers idolatry or the worship of other gods, adultery and in the all through the Torah, the Writings and the Prophets He makes that very, very clear. King Solomon, among others, committed idolatry and in effect committed adultery against Yahweh. Some marriages can tolerate many things, but adultery is a tough one and in this case the adultery continued on and on and on. Yahweh's patience, love and forgiveness for his people was incredible, but at some point a line had to be drawn as they were continually unfaithful to Him. The consequence of this was that a divorce decree was given to Israel, but not to Judah. Separation occurred in the kingdom and became what is now known in history as the Northern and Southern Kingdoms and subsequently the scattering of the ten tribes of Israel occurred throughout the nations. Yahweh did not put away or divorce Judah because of a promise He had made to King David.

So if a woman is given a certificate of divorce in the Torah can she remarry the husband that divorced her? The answer is no. According to Torah she may not remarry the husband that divorced her. There is one way however that she could remarry or recovenant and that is if the former husband dies. That is exactly what happened when Yahshua (Jesus) came. Yahshua is the Word (Torah), He is Yahweh (God), and He came to earth in the flesh of a man and died on a cross, was buried and resurrected, ascended into heaven now seated at the right hand of the Father and will be returning soon for His bride. His death was not only payment for her sins, but also made it possible for the covenant to be "renewed" with her. We who are His bride will soon be reunited with Him when comes back because of His sacrifice.

The Torah is the instructions for a good marriage with our King. Most of the mizvot or instructions can not be kept today because there is not a temple or sacrificial system, however many of the commandments do still apply in the messianic faith. Honestly, when I first thought about keeping Torah I thought that might be difficult or burdensome, because that is what I had been told my entire christian walk, but most of the instructions in the Torah are common sense on how to worship the Lord during His appointed times (His Feasts), how to get along in society and with others and how to take care of the body the Lord has given me. It is all very good and has been a tremendous blessing to my family and myself. Frankly I feel more freedom because I know very clearly where the boundaries are so there is no guess work. If sin has been defined as missing the mark, what is this mark everyone keeps talking about missing? The mark are the instructions in the Torah. That is what we should be aiming for!

For a more detailed and challenging teaching I recommend to watch Rico Cortes at www.wisdomintorah.com Click on "Teaching", "Watch Rico on TV" and then scroll down and click on the pt. 1 of the "What is the Renewed Covenant?". Rico is very detailed and will probably answer more of your questions accurately and thoroughly through his teaching.

Blessings to you!! SHALOM ALEICHEM!

Brad Scott of Wildbranch Ministries

Brad Scott is one of my favorite teachers. This is very detailed and LONG. You might want to watch a little at a time and chew on it a bit. Enjoy! Check out his ministry at www.wildbranch.org

Paradigm Shift

**This is not meant to offend anyone, it is just the truth of my experiences and what Yahweh did in my heart and is doing in my heart as a result. Nor is this meant as an indictment on any individual. Names are not used. It IS a revealing of some of the problems of a system that needs repair. **

Rewind to a few years ago. We received a call that a church member had a cardiac arrest and was in the hospital. At just 42 years old, a wife and mother of a young daughter lay there in a hospital bed dying. As we gathered in her room to pray for her I heard her husband say these words, "honey, you thought no one loved you, but look at all the people who have come to see you!" She never regained consciousness and passed away a few days latter.

It was at that moment, in that hospital room, that I realized things were terribly broken. I have never been able to forget those words he spoke. Quite honestly, I didn't know her. We sat in lots of meetings together and we got things done. There were countless potlucks, leadership meetings, Vacation Bible Schools and Women's Ministry functions over the years where we hashed out details for this program or that program and this event or that event. She really didn't seem like she liked me very much, so I didn't pursue a friendship. She was incredibly organized and a very dedicated servant in our church. I had a lot of respect for her. And all this time she thought no one loved her. I thought to myself, what in the world is wrong with me that I have been in this church for 10 years and I don't even know this woman and she thought I didn't love her. What is wrong with all of us that she never felt loved by us? What is wrong in the church, all churches, that anyone feels this way? This woman went to her grave thinking that no one at our church loved her.

This experience affected me profoundly and deeply. It really, among other things, began a paradigm shift in me that continues today. I wondered how lonely and hurt she might have been. I knew there were cliques in our church and that some people were "in" and some people were "out". I never considered myself either and always tried to pay little attention to them, but certain other church members that were considered "out" would come to me and confide in me the pain of feeling not included in certain groups in our church. I'd pray with them and encourage them to overlook it and try to convince them that it really wasn't like that, or perhaps it was their "own insecurities" I would suggest. How arrogant of me! Looking back on that it breaks my heart that I invalidated their feelings like that and did not even try to acknowledge the problem, the pain this caused them or even attempt to do anything about it. "Get busy with service, then you won't think about it", I thought. I kept my self busy with "service" and I think that is how I dealt with the isolation and lack of intimacy with fellow "church family". When my fellow church member passed away I began to realize that much of what I had thought was a "family" was an illusion and wishful thinking on my part. There were a few people I was close to, but not many really knew my struggles or pain and I certainly wasn't going to share them lest I be labeled divisive, a complainer, nonspiritual or negative. I confess that appearances can be very important in the church. That is not the case with all, but to many of us appearances take precedence over reality and that is really tragic. I was one of those people. I am being honest.

You know life is funny. You can put on a strong front for a while but eventually something or some things come into your life and shake everything up. The jig is up. You can stop the act and you quite frankly don't have a choice but to "get real" because life can get that tough and yes, very, very overwhelming. In my life that came in the shape of adopting two kids from the foster care system with emotional problems, coping with social services, birth family visits and court dates, family and marital difficulties, a accident, a surgery, a death in the family and the crashing and burning of the third church leadership I had served under. Yes, all of that happened pretty much in the same time period. When it rains, it pours, right!? I know that is not unique, other people have problems too. What I found out through all this has been invaluable to me albeit very painful in the process. I really collapsed emotionally and spiritually during that time and never before did I need a "family" more. Unfortunately my blood relatives live far way and that has been the case my entire married life. I took a chance and tried to reach out to church family to ask for help but I think the level of crisis in the church from the recent leadership issues and just the sheer uncomfortableness of someone who acted "like they had it all together" having a crisis, caught people completely off guard, made them uncomfortable, not to mention they probably just didn't know how to help us...so they just looked away. The expectation to serve due to declining help in the church was as heavy as ever on me and honestly I was completely tapped out. I'd spend all week taking care of a little boy that was out of his pain trying to literally destroy our house, our family and his school and then go to church on Sunday and take care of 10 two year olds every week because the teacher didn't show up. I wanted to do the right thing but I was in no shape to serve anymore. I was hurting, lonely and completely exhausted. I needed help and I needed understanding without judgement.

My husband could no longer come with me to church because his shift at work changed and with him gone there was no one to sit with or talk to and beyond the simple "hi and hello" I was pretty much alone. We both felt our time was done there and honestly I don't think our leaving was really felt. The business of church, whatever church it is, must go on and it did.

I was deeply disappointed and really began to question what I believed. I began to question everything these men and the christian church had taught me over the years. These men were gifted orators that morally fell hurting their wives and children and destroying their families and the church in the process. I realize they are not gods just human flesh and blood, but I had quite honestly put them all up on too high a pedestal. I had put the church up on too high a pedestal. I expected the church to be a family to me, a family I didn't have rooted in our common faith in Jesus Christ. I expected someone to tell what to do or at least have a good cry with me. What I found instead was a flawed institution, a business, a cult of personalities and teachings and cliques. I expected them to have my back, but instead they turned their backs. I was angry, hurt and confused and wondering what was real anymore.

In time I forgave. In time I began to heal. I had learned some valuable lessons though all of this and the paradigm shift started to take root in my mind and in my heart and I began to taste freedom for the first time in a very long time. I began to seek Yahshua (Jesus) in a way that I had never had before and walk my own walk with Him independent from the tradition and teaching of men. I have learned to think, reason and evaluate the Word for myself and I am learning to truly seek and worship Him in Spirit and Truth. I have learned to meet with Him at His appointed times, not the appointed times of man and how important obedience is to Him. This has brought a new level of intimacy with my Lord that I have never experienced before. I haven't arrived and I know there is a lot more to learn. Every day is exciting as I wait and see what He has to show me! I feel in many ways like I have been born again....again!

So here are some things I have learned on this journey I am on:

1.) Sincerity, love, character, humility, truth and virtue are needed in churches and fellowships. NOT more programs or ministries. The ministry will flow from the love we have the Lord and for one another, not from a mission statement, a meeting, a building or a social clique. READ TITUS!!

2.) The church should not be run like a business, but like a family. Run from these! Acts 2

3.) You need to be somewhere where you can be honest and not face judgement. Take your mask off. If they can't handle what they see move on, in love. Ephesians 4:15

4.) Don't ever assume that someone feels loved or accepted, show them, even if they are a bit prickly. You might not even begin to understand how lonely they are. You might never get that opportunity again, so do it now! Invest in the life of another person without expecting a return. 1 Corinthians 13:4

5.) Don't seek signs or wonders, seek Him. Matt. 24:23-25, Matt. 12:38-39

6.) Don't get caught up in the talent or gifts of teachers. If their life doesn't match their words there is a problem. If their words and actions do not reflect a desire to seek the Word run! Matt. 24:23-25, Matt. 12:38-39

7.) Respect authority, but never be anywhere where you can not question a teaching or disagree with something. It should be OK to agree to disagree sometimes and still love one another. If you can not ask questions this is a red flag! 2 Timothy 2:15

Love and Shalom!!

Inspired

Committed

Many of us, especially when we first come into relationship with Yahshua (Jesus) our Messiah, can have one foot in the world and one foot in our relationship with Adonai. Sadly, I know I was very much like this. Because of sheer ignorance, in some instances, and some spiritual strongholds in my life at the time I was not fully committed to Him in the way I should have been. In time, like an addict coming off of a powerful drug, the Lord revealed these things to me and gently and sometimes not so gently removed those things and situations from my life and even removed my desire for those things. These "things", had they remained, would have most certainly opened the door to other sin and also disturbed the level of intimacy in my new found relationship with Yahshua. To choose sin or earthly idols over our relationship with Him is adulterous.

Our relationship to Yahshua is a marriage covenant. Like the agreement we make when we say our marriage vows to our spouse there are certain conditions to this new relationship. His love for us does not change but the harmony in the relationship can and will change if we decide to be adulterous or unfaithful. In an earthly marriage, we promise to love, honor, obey and be faithful to our new spouse. In the event of the breaking of this covenant such actions can deeply impact the harmony in the relationship and in the worst case scenario it can destroy the relationship all together.

Don't be fooled by the teaching or opinions of man. There are all sorts of books and teachings out there promoting a light hearted inconsequential attitude towards sin and idolatry. I have read and heard many of them! Sadly, I have over the years recommended a few of them of which I whole heatedly repent. Our Adonai is a jealous Lord. In fact, He says that is His name.

"For the Lord, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God."—Exodus 34:14.

The world does not deliver the depth of love or satisfaction that Adonai does. I know, I have tried to find it in many ways. Worship or adoration of man, beast or earthly things will never satisfy in the way that He can. He is more than sufficient.

There is a movement in the world to once again worship the created, rather than the Creator and it is not pleasing to the Lord, make no mistake. It is a religion in and of itself and it takes many forms but is essentially likened to a very familiar story in history. The Israelites in the book of Exodus also did that very thing.

Exodus 32:1-3

1 When the people saw that Moshe was taking a long time to come down from the mountain, they gathered around Aharon and said to him, "Get busy; and make us gods to go ahead of us; because this Moshe, the man that brought us up from the land of Egypt - we don't know what has become of him." 2 Aharon said to them, "Have your wives, sons and daughters strip off their gold earrings; and bring them to me." 3 The people stripped off their gold earrings and brought them to Aharon. 4 He received what they gave him, melted it down, and made it into the shape of a calf. They said, "Isra'el! Here is your god, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!"

This choice came directly after the covenant they as a people had just made with Him. How quickly they forgot all that the Lord had done for them! Before we judge them, however, we must consider that that can be our tendency as well. The anger of Yahweh burned towards them.


Exodus 32: 7-11

7 ADONAI said to Moshe, "Go down! Hurry! Your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have become corrupt! 8 So quickly they have turned aside from the way I ordered them to follow! They have cast a metal statue of a calf, worshipped it, sacrificed to it and said, 'Isra'el! Here is your god, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!'" 9 ADONAI continued speaking to Moshe: "I have been watching these people; and you can see how stiffnecked they are. 10 Now leave me alone, so that my anger can blaze against them, and I can put an end to them! I will make a great nation out of you instead." 11

Moses begged Yahweh to spare them reminding Him of the promises He had made. The Lord spared them but there was an accountability for those responsible for leading the others astray. Read the rest of the chapter to find out.


We are not much different. We turn to the strange doctrines of the this world and bow down to the idols of this world so easily. We may not even realize we are doing it. The evil one does not make himself obvious when he introduces these things and quite often comes as a sheep in wolves clothing. He is very subtle. We must be sober, vigilant and remain close to our First Love.

This Might Hurt

But the Truth does that sometimes. I apologize in advance for any uncomfortable feelings this might produce, but it is entirely the truth....and the truth is very important. I would advise if you choose to watch this that you do not have children present. There is a way to impart this to them, if you so choose, without being to graphic. Anyway, let me know what you think, respectfully of course. This is probably the best teaching I have ever found on this subject.

This teaching was done by Jim Staley.