In this article, I will be sharing with us on a title: “Giving to God in the New Covenant.” But before we start, we are going to be looking at what is the New Covenant? Before we go into giving to God in the New Covenant, it is imperative we understand what the New Covenant is. I want us to start our observation from the book of Jeremiah chapter 31. We want to understand the New Covenant, the importance of the New Covenant to us and how we can give to God in this covenant. Jeremiah 31, we will read from verse 31-34. The Bible says:
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
Jeremiah chapter 31:31-34 that we read opened us to the prophecy concerning the New Covenant. One of the beautiful things about God is that God declares the end from the beginning. If God wants to start any business, He doesn’t just show up, God foretells His activities and events. So, when a son was to be born, there was a prophecy ahead saying that there would be a sign, this is the sign that I will show to this generation; a child shall be born of a virgin. So, everything God does, He actually does it beforehand so that when it happens you will know that He said it and it has come to pass.
So, this New Covenant is not an exception. When God said to the children of Israel, He said I want to use the children of Israel as a picture of what I have in store for the earth. God took the children of Israel as the shadow of the real thing. God was going to raise a family on the earth, and God said you know what; these are a choice people, called the children of Israel and He separated them unto Himself. Not just to be their God; because, if it was just to be their God, then the children of Israel were not supposed to enjoy the experiences they enjoyed in God. It was beyond Him being that deity called God in heaven that reaches out to them. What God wanted with them was a family relationship.
What God wanted with the children of Israel was a union between divinity and humanity that helps humanity to display divinity on the earth. That was the agenda of God. And that’s why you will see that the children of God enjoyed supernatural experiences and events in their lives. So, when this plan, this proposal had been put in place, this proposal of God to the children of Israel met a brick wall, because of their unbelief. If you go back to the book of Exodus and we see the journey of the children of Israel with God, you would realize that they were a stiff necked, unbelieving, doubtful people. They were people that were not ready to give God a chance.
They were like a young lady that a man is trying to woo and she is saying see there is no space here. They actually blocked God out of their space. They pushed Moses to go and have interaction with God, they will say you know what? There is something about this God that we don’t understand. There is something about this God that we cannot relate with, you talk to Him and come and talk to us, but that was not the original plan of God. God wanted to talk to every member of that nation. If you go back to the book of Hebrews when the Bible was talking to us about the fact that we have come to mount Zion, it said you have not come to a mountain that cannot be touched, that is fearful, filled with blackness, smoke and all that, the intention of God was not to scare them, but there was a nature in them that could not accommodate the almightiness of God.
There was a nature in them that could not bring them into union with God, there was a nature in them that could not make the marriage possible. And that’s why God was speaking here in Jeremiah chapter 31, that I am doing away with the old order, I am doing away with the old covenant, I am establishing the new. And He said this is the New Covenant I am making, and remember what God said in verse 32b; he said my covenant which they broke, God is a covenant keeping God. In that relationship, it was the people that broke the covenant, not God. God said though I was a husband to them, though God was a husband to them, they did not understand it. They could not relate. And that’s why in this New Covenant, because now we are trying to walk through to understand what the New Covenant offers and what God is trying to do with the new. So that we will not fall into the error of the children of Israel, so that we also can embrace in fullness what this New Covenant has to offer us.
God said but this is the covenant that I will make; meaning it’s a future thing. This time it was prophesied; this is the covenant that I will make with the house the house of Israel after those days says the Lord. I will put my law; this is the focus. I will not write my laws on tablets of stones, I won’t give Moses a tablet with my laws written on them, He said I will put my law in their minds. Meaning I will have conversation, relationship with individuals, not just a leader. Each and every one of them will have an encounter with me. I will put my law in their minds and write it myself on their heart. So, the New Covenant is a personalized assignment. It has to do with each and every one. It is no longer a group or collective affair. It’s now a personalized, customized affair. God writing His law in your mind, in my mind, putting His law in your mind in my mind, writing it in your heart in my heart, and it said I will be their God and they will be my people.
Verse 34, It said; “No more” meaning it was happening, shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ it said no more. It said everyone will know Him, for they all- not some. If they are in my family, if they are born of me, in this New Covenant, they shall know Me, from the least-meaning God exempted no one. From the adults to the children. They will all know me from the least of them to the greatest. He said; For I will forgive. In the old covenant it was a covering. In the New Covenant He said I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.
Before He was remembering their sins, in the New Covenant He said I will remember no more. No wonder the Bible says that those that are in Christ, they are a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things are made new. Why? The effect of the New Covenant. “and that which was prophesied concerning Jesus and what He will do for us was established. I want us to see Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 29. “Of how much worse punishment do you suppose would be thought worthy with who has trampled the son of God under foot, counted the blood of the covenant by which He was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace.”
So, the blood of Jesus ushered in the New Covenant. “by which no one would again fall into the old order of covering of sin and walking as just a member of a nation. Now, you are in the family of God. You are in the family of God. So, what the New Covenant has done for us in Hebrews chapter 9 verse 18 to 20, was that; “Therefore, not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. 19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.”
But in this new testament recording concerning Jesus, if we read on down, we will see that the sacrifice of Jesus ushered in the new, annulling the old. Now, in this New Covenant that we have by the blood of Jesus, because the New Covenant is not without blood just like the old was not without blood. The blood of Jesus has done something for us, the blood of Jesus has made something possible for us. The blood of Jesus has brought us and ushered us into an experience. The person of Jesus is the platform, the Bible says no foundation can be laid except that which has been laid, Christ Jesus. This foundation that has been laid, what is the import of it? What is the weight that this foundation carries?
Colossians 1 verse 19 to 23. Permit me this morning we will read a lot of Scriptures because I believe it is important for us to first understand the New Covenant before we understand how to give in the New Covenant. Colossians 1 verse 19 to 23. “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, –the fullness of what? The fullness of God. 20 and by Him to reconcile all things-all things; not some things, to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. We cannot talk about the New Covenant without talking about the blood, and we will see the importance of that blood now; 21 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind. The reason why God could not write His law and put His laws in our minds was because we were enemies, alienated in our minds by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled.”
So, the fulfilment of that prophecy in Jeremiah 33 was made possible through what the blood did to usher in the New Covenant. So, we were alienated, enemies; God could not put His law in our minds. We could not handle the touch of God, the hand of God. Our nature and the nature of God was not in alignment. So, the Bible says Jesus reconciled. Verse 22, in the body of His flesh through death, –this was how He reconciled, in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— do we understand it? Jesus in the New Covenant, presented Benedicta holy, blameless, without fault in the sight of God. So, God looks at you in Christ Jesus, you are reconciled to Him, and what He does is that He is able to put His handwriting on you.
Why? You are Holy, He is Holy. When He writes on you with His holy ink, the sheet is holy. Your heart is holy. So, He can write on it. Your heart is without wrinkle, its without spot, so He can write on it. The Bible says the eyes of the Lord cannot behold iniquity. So, Jesus was the one that was taking us from our mess, every time anyone comes to Him, stained and wrinkled, messed up, what Jesus does with His blood is that you can’t appear before the Father like this, let me take care of you. So, Jesus dips you in His blood. The Bible says even though your garment is as red as crimson, He will wash you as white as snow. So, He can present you before the Father holy without reproach.
What happens when He immerse you in His blood? You carry the same blood with Him. That’s why when Jesus was teaching His disciples, He said anyone that does not eat my flesh and drink my blood does not have a part in Me. And it’s the part you have in Me that makes you presentable before the Father without spot and without wrinkle. So, every time anyone comes to Christ, the blood is the place of washing. It’s not just the place of washing, it’s the place of baptism. What does baptism mean? It means that you are overwhelmed, the taking over. The nature you came with to Him is altered by the blood. Because the Bible says that the life of a thing is its blood.
That’s why Apostle Paul was bold to say, I have been crucified with Christ, never the less I live, the life I now live I live it in the place of blood washing, where I have been baptized and immersed in the blood of Jesus. And I have come out no longer living the life I left there. There is a blood work that has been done in my life, that have changed me. And when I appear before God, it is no longer I that live but Christ. That’s the New Covenant, we live in Christ. In Him we live, move and have our being. Why? The blood work. The blood work that has been done in us. It’s a consciousness, it’s not physical blood transfusion, it’s a spiritual work. And until you believe it, it can’t be activated in you. Until you walk in the fullness of it by faith, by faith we know that the worlds were framed by the word of God.
By faith we know that when we met Christ, something happened to us, something changed in us, something was altered in our DNA, it is no longer I that lives, but Christ lives in me. So, that’s what the Bible is saying here, that He presented us to God holy and blameless, above reproach. Reproach is not possible because of the quality of the blood. Not the blood of turtle doves, not the blood of rams, not the blood of bulls or sheep, no this is the precious blood of Jesus. Verse 23, if indeed you continue in the faith, this is what connects you. “if indeed” this is the precondition. If indeed you continue in the faith grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.”
Apostle Paul said this is what I serve, this is what I give, whenever I see you, this is what I minister. No wonder the Apostle said; Him we preach. The New Covenant agreement with the blood of Jesus is the good news, it’s the gospel, that’s what we preach. It is that you know that this nature that you are struggling with can be altered at the cross. Where His blood is streaming down from, where He will baptize and immerse you in the blood and you will not remain the same again, old things have passed away and behold all things have become new. And it happens in an instant. The Bible says to the world its foolishness but to us, it is the power of God. Everything that we are, that’s where it starts from. That’s where it generates from, that’s where power comes from.
That’s where every inheritance we have access to in Christ Jesus, that’s where its birthed. We never qualified until the New Covenant was installed. In the old we were still operating as slaves, have we gone through the book of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and read the law? Do you know when you harvest, there are laws that guild your harvest? When you as a man you are dealing with your neighbors, there is a law that guilds it. As a woman when you are living your life; monthly cycles and all, there is a law that guilds it. Imagine the number of laws and what was required. No wonder the Bible says He cancelled every handwriting of requirement.
The New Covenant is powerful, understanding it will liberate us forever. You are new in Christ. That’s why the Bible says in Hebrews that the blood of Jesus is the blood of sprinkling, the Bible says it speaks better things than the blood of Abel. Meaning that the blood speaks. The blood speaks in me, the blood speaks in you, everyone that has the blood is not dormant, the blood of Jesus is not a dead blood, it’s a living blood, so it speaks. When you appear having the blood, the blood is saying something concerning you. The reason you are above reproach is because the blood is speaking justification, the reason why you cannot again be a slave to sin is because the blood is speaking salvation. The blood is speaking. So it’s important we understand this.
So, we are moving on to look at giving to God in the New Covenant. Matthew 25, we will read from verse 31 to verse 46, it’s a lengthy read but I will try and break it down so that it won’t drag. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the [c]holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand” I want us to pause a bit there, you will see that He started with; ‘when the son of man shall come’. Who is the son of man? Jesus! After He mentioned Him as the son of man through all these words, you will be seeing the king. The Bible said where we read we read in Colossians it said it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell.
So, He is Lord and King and will judge the nations. In the New Covenant, Jesus judges the nations as He seats as king in glory. After the work that Jesus did on the earth, the Bible says now He is seated at the right hand of the Father. Is He sitting as a prince? He is sitting as a King. And the importance of that, and why that is relevant is that what you have in you is not the blood of a slave, but the blood of a king. The blood that washed you, the blood that sanctified you, the blood that set you apart is not the blood of a slave, it’s the blood of the King. And what that does is that it puts in you the DNA of the personality-the King.
So, the king put on His left the goat and on His right the sheep, verse 34, then the king would say; understand that this is also a prophecy; The king would say to those on His right hand ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Can we pause a little bit? What was Jesus saying here? The Bible says no other foundation can be laid except that which has been laid. Which is Christ Jesus. The Bible says Christ Jesus is the lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world was laid. And Jesus was saying to them here, He said come you blessed of My Father inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation. Meaning that it was in the picture from the beginning, God had prepared this thing. So, there is nothing now that you think is catching God unawares, because God knows the end, He declares the end from the beginning. And He said the kingdom has been prepared from the foundation of the earth. Now verse 35 is the major place we are going. What qualified them for this kingdom? It said:
For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, [it’s a prophesy] saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, –without any shadow of doubt- I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ That was the response of Jesus. Jesus is giving us a picture of judgement.
Jesus is giving us a picture of the future, that after your work on earth is done, this is how I will judge you, this is how I will judge your ministering and service. When I was hungry, you fed me, when I was naked you clothed me, when I was in prison you visited me, when I was sick you were there. When these people were shocked and amazed, Jesus we didn’t see you on earth, Jesus if we had seen you on earth we would have recognized you, Jesus said as long as you have done it to the least of these my brethren. Why did Jesus use the word ‘my brethren’? He said I no longer call you servants but friends, brethren, brothers. Why? We share the same Father. The reason we are brothers is because we share the same divine nature. Because we share the same Father. And who is the Father? The Father is God. The King of all creations. The one that made the heavens and the earth.
The first introduction of God was in Genesis chapter 1 verse 1, in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now, this is to help us with our religious mindset. Giving to God in the New Covenant is not in many of the things we think that we are doing. Giving to God in the New Covenant is not in those things that we are envisaging to do, Jesus said, these are the words of Christ, as long as you have done it to the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me. Meaning that Jesus created a family system on the earth, and He said as long as you have seen My people, you have seen Me. My blood is in them. That makes them mine. That’s why the Bible says know no man in the flesh, know them by the blood. When you see Mr. Francis, He is Francis in Christ, when you see Mr. John, He is Mr. John in Christ.
Don’t know them in the flesh because Christ is in them. Jesus was saying to those righteous ones you identified with me on the earth, He was telling His disciples, He said those that reject me I will reject before My Father, those that accept Me, embrace Me, celebrate Me, I will celebrate before My Father. That’s the prophecy that He was speaking to us here about. Know no man in the flesh. I was reading a book of Rick Joyner. And He was talking about his experience in heaven, I think the second one he wrote, and he said there was a particular man not really mentally stable, that he used to see him walk the street homeless, when he was on the earth he would just look at him with pity and walk pass, he said he used to see him at a substation and all.
He said when he had this experience and encounter in heaven, he saw the same man in heaven, but this time his countenance has changed, he was no longer that man he saw on earth. They were now speaking to him in heaven that that man you saw him severally on the earth and walked passed him, you were not discerning to know that you were supposed to minister to him. That this man would have fulfilled more on earth that he died untimely, that if you had intervened and ministered to him, he felt terrible, He said he felt so much sorrow that he wished he knew that there was an assignment for him for that man. Those are the ones that Jesus was talking about here. I was naked and you clothed Me, meaning you responded to my needs. Every time I was in need you responded. Jesus said My needs are not those things you are thinking about; My needs are the needs of My people, if you meet the needs of My people, you have met My needs. Because when you want to see Me, you will see Me in My people. They carry my blood.
In the New Covenant, the blood speaks. In the New Covenant, know no man in the flesh. As we walk daily living our lives, let us not be like the goats that ignored Christ, cared less about Him, as they were going about doing crusades, jamboree in the name of God. And the people of God, the brethren were abandoned. Giving to God in the New Covenant is giving and meeting the needs of Christ. When they asked Jesus, how can we do the works of God, He said believe the one He sent, believe Christ, that’s how to do the works of God. To do the works of God, to give to God believe the works of Christ. When I was hungry you fed me, when I was naked you covered Me, when I was in prison you visited me, when I was sick you cared for Me, that is the works of Christ. And this is the heart beat of God.
The Bible says though we are many, we are one body in Christ, in Christ we are a single unit. He is the head, He is the bride groom, we are the bride. And that’s why when Jesus was going to pray, He said Father make them one as we are one. The hall mark of maturity of the body is unity. How with one voice we can run. That’s the prophecy in Joel chapter 2, none of them breaking ranks, everyone marching in his column. Unity! We become a formidable force on the earth. And Jesus said these are the things I recognize. When I was hungry you fed Me, when I was naked you clothed Me.
In verse 41 to 46 He said; “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: who is the devil and his angels? Those that do not recognize Christ. For I was hungry and you gave Me no food; The flip side of the judgement, Jesus judged these people not for their crusades, not for their conferences or seminars, not for their cars or houses, I was hungry you gave me no food. I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, – so they knew Him as Lord. When did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Giving to God in the New Covenant is ministering. If you go back to that Scripture, Bible says that God will not forget your labor of love that you have done in His name.
Anything that is not done in the name of Christ of Christ is charity. The best that Cornelius did, The Bible says it arose to God as a memorial, when God did not want him to perish in his charity assignment, God sent Peter to him. He has been doing a lot of charity work but I see his heart, his heart is the kind that I can write on, go and introduce him to Christ. Cornelius is a classic example that the best any man can do without Christ is charity. It only ascends to God as a memorial, you are giving but you are not being presented. And He said; 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, –meaning you could do it to others, in as much as you did not do it in recognition of the blood, what did Jesus say? – You did not do it to Me.’ And whatever you did not do to me, is not accepted.
Verse 46, “And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Giving in the New Covenant is giving in Christ. Recognizing Christ, identifying with Christ, we cannot live our lives as daily jamboree, there is an assignment of Christ, there is a work of Christ that we must do, we must recognize Christ everywhere and anywhere we find ourselves. That’s the assignment, minister to Christ, because ministering to Christ is ministering to His people. The implication of the New Covenant is that we become one with Christ and we do the works of Christ, serving Christ and giving to Christ.
How do we Give in the New Covenant?
We give in accordance with Galatians 5 verse 22. That the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Giving in the New Covenant is giving in accordance with the fruit of the Spirit; Love. Give heartily. Colossians 3:23-24. Give without grumbling or questioning in total obedience to God. If He says this is what I want you to do; all you have to say is yes Lord. Give without being weary or tired. Give with perseverance, with longsuffering, you are not tired, don’t be weary in well doing. In that you minister, God will not forget your labor of love, which you have done in His name in that you minister to the saints and you are ministering. You continue to minister, you are still ministering, you don’t give up until Christ takes you home. You keep doing it.
Give with fervency, with Passion. Give to the glory of God. The Bible says whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God. If the rich man knew that Lazarus that was eating crumbs from his table was so dear to God, do you think he would treat him the way he treated him? But we don’t see Christ in people. If only you will see through the eyes of God, you will not commonize anybody. You will see that this one is precious in the eyes of God. When they wanted to take the children away from Jesus, His disciples were doing protocol work, He said let the children come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of God.
He didn’t say this not children affair we are taking about serious matters here. He was seeing God in those children. How do we see as disciples of Jesus?
When we give, we must give in the strength of Christ. Not in our own strength. Apostle Paul said I can do all things. Philippians 4:13 through Christ that strengthens me, I can give to God through Christ that strengthens me. I will love to close with Matthew 16 verse 24-26. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” A man that wants to save his life, “I want my comfort, I want my privacy, I want my time” Jesus said he would lose that life. But the one that will lose it; that as “I minister, I give myself, I am ready to be burnt, I am ready to give up myself, I am ready to abandon myself, Apostle Paul said I have fought the good fight of faith, I have kept the faith, I keep fighting not as one that beats the air. He said this one thing I do, I forget the things that are behind, I focus on the things that are ahead, I press towards the mark of my high calling in Christ Jesus. That should be our preoccupation, that should be our desire, that should be our burning passion.
Giving to God in the New Covenant is sacrificing ourselves, our lives on the altar for Him. And say God I am ready to burn for you. To shine as light, Jesus said shine as light to this dark world, to shine as light, you must be ready to burn. No light shines without burning. You must be willing to burn, and that burning part is the sacrifice of the flesh. Laying the flesh on the altar and saying “Lord mortify my flesh so that you can burn in me. I mortify my flesh so that your light can shine through me. I want us to pray and say “Lord the grace to give to you in this New Covenant, I receive it.
