God's Blessed Plans For A New Covenant Church - Zac Poonen
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Summary
God has established a new covenant church distinguished by radical obedience, holiness, and intimate communion with Christ. The church must prioritize spiritual transformation over religious formality, living out God's covenant promises through sanctified living and corporate devotion to Jesus as Lord.
Outline
The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.
The shift from competition to cooperationIn the Old Testament, prophets often worked in isolation and competition, but the end of the era saw Haggai and Zechariah working together, paving the way for the New Covenant.
The expansion and protection of the New JerusalemThe New Covenant church, represented by a new Jerusalem, is characterized by being without walls to allow for massive growth and by God Himself acting as a wall of fire for protection.
Cooperating with God to restore believersUsing the imagery of Joshua the high priest, the speaker explains that while believers have sin, our mission is to cooperate with Christ to restore and glorify one another rather than accusing each other.
Family vs. Neighbors: How we treat others' flawsTrue family members seek to help others overcome mistakes, whereas outsiders only criticize. We should act like family by helping to clean and restore those who stumble.
The Church as a golden lampstandUsing the imagery of Zechariah, the speaker describes the church as a golden lampstand clothed in Christ's righteousness, continuously supplied with oil.
A future without greed and the call to pure offeringsThe speaker envisions a day when money-seeking motives are gone from the church and concludes with a call to offer God our very best rather than cheap sacrifices.
The difference between the Old and New CovenantsThe speaker contrasts the end of the Old Testament, which concludes with a curse, with the New Testament, which ends with the grace of Jesus Christ.
Jesus as the Word and the manifestation of GodBy examining John 1, the speaker explains that Jesus is called 'the Word' because He makes the invisible God visible to us.
The necessity of the Holy Spirit to obey GodSince God's commands are difficult to keep, He provides the Holy Spirit as a Helper to empower believers to live in obedience and love.
Understanding God's will through the SpiritTo avoid being foolish, one must understand God's will, which is to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit rather than being intoxicated with wine.
The transformative effects of the Spirit on marriageBeing filled with the Spirit leads to a life of praise, gratitude, and mutual submission, specifically modeling the relationship between a husband and wife after the head and the body.
Building a resilient and patient communityBy standing firm against spiritual opposition and practicing patience with the weaknesses of others, the church becomes a complete and unified body.
