a new beginning -...

A new beginning

Ezekiel 36:24-32

24 " 'For I will take you out of the nations; I

will gather you from all the countries and

bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you

will be clean; I will cleanse you from all

your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new

spirit in you; I will remove from you your

heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move

you to follow my decrees and be careful to

keep my laws.

28 You will live in the land I gave your

forefathers; you will be my people, and I

will be your God. 29 I will save you from all

your uncleanness. I will call for the grain

and make it plentiful and will not bring

famine upon you. 30 I will increase the fruit

of the trees and the crops of the field, so that

you will no longer suffer disgrace among

the nations because of famine.

Saul

David

Solomon

Israel

Judah

AssyrianScattering

BabylonianExile

EzekielJeremiah

930 BC

722 BC

586 BC

Timeline of Israel

Sprinkling clean water symbolized cleansing from sin. In Old Testament sprinkling and washing with water pictured cleansing from ceremonial defilement.

Ezekial 36:25I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.

The Lord purified His people from their sins on the cross 2000 years ago.

Cleanse us …

Heb 9:13-14 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that leadto death, so that we may serve the living God!

Cleanse us …

Cleanse us …

Heb 10:22 … let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Heb 12:24 … to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

A New Heart & A New Spirit

Biblically, “heart” = “centre” or “core” (eg “the heart of the matter”). For people, the whole “inner being” or “inner man”. Hence, heart is the seat of our personality, emotional state, intellectual activities and will or volition. Your heart is who you are.

Often in the Bible the words heartand spirit are used interchangeably.

Ezekial 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

A New Heart & A New Spirit

In the New Covenant, the Lord has given us a new heart … a good heart!

Luke 8:15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

What is impossible with men is possible with God.When God sows a seed into our good hearts, everything is possible.

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

I will put my Spirit in you

Ezekial 36:27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — 17the Spirit of truth.

John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

2 Cor 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

A New Relationship

Ezekial 36:28b you will be my people, and I will be your God.

I will be your God: He will act according to all that is in the covenant — supply all our needs, deliver from all dangers, and fill us with everlasting joy. He will be faithful and longsuffering, bearing with their frailties, never leaving nor forsaking us.

you will be my people: this expresses a covenantal relationship

V24 I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you,

V25 I will sprinkle clean water on you; I will cleanse you,

V26 I will give you a new heart; I will remove from you your heart of stone, and

V27 I will put my Spirit in you.

V28 You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

V29 I will save you from all your uncleanness. I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you.

V30 I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.

The “I will” of the New Covenant

The New Covenant not only regenerates us and restores our relationship with God but also rewards us with His blessings.

The New Covenant was established between God and Jesus, the man, and ratified in His blood.

On the cross, Jesus dealt completely & exhaustively with the problem of sin and its penalty on us.When we believe and trust in Him, we are included into His New Covenant.

He has made us clean with new hearts/spirits where His Holy Spirit may dwell in. This happened on Pentecost.

The “I will” of the New Covenant

Note: the Lord rewarded with them with good harvests plentifully so that they will not be a disgrace.

Gracious blessings are part of the overall benefits of the New Covenant!

Ezekial 36:29-30 I will call for the grain and make it plentiful and will not bring famine upon you. 30 I will increase the fruit of the trees and the crops of the field, so that you will no longer suffer disgrace among the nations because of famine.

Rewards (unmerited)

And today is A NEW BEGINNING as He says:I will make you clean

I will give you a new heart/a new spirit

I will put my Spirit in you

I will bless you abundantly

All in the New Covenant for a New Year.

A New Beginning