Jeremiah 31:21
A New Thing in the Earth
Jeremiah 31:21-22 says, Set thee up way marks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of
This is the
beginning of a series of topical sermons with the theme, A new thing thing in the earth. Everything that God does is a new
thing. There is nothing new under the sun. There is nothing new to God because
God is from everlasting to everlasting. And yet everything that God does is
new.
In thinking
about a new thing in the earth there are a few truths to understand.
Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, To every thing there is a season, and a
time to every purpose under the heaven. To every new thing in the earth that
God does there is a time and a season. To know the times and the seasons when
creates a new thing in the earth you must know the Word of God and be in close
fellowship with the Spirit of God. Then you will know when the world is
changing, or a nation is changing, or a culture, or a city,
or the soul of a man, and most importantly you will recognize when Gods
leading your life is something new.
One way of
understanding a new thing in the earth is to look at the overall picture of
Human history and divide it into ages. We live in the age of grace. Therefore
we know that whatever new thing God is doing in the world today and in our
lives has to do with grace.
John 1:16-17
says, And of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Every day is a
new day. Therefore every day God is doing something new in the earth. If
tomorrow comes it will be a new day and thus it shall be a new thing in the
earth: a new day of grace in this age of grace. What is the burden of the LORD
today? This is the question that you must ask yourself. What is the new thing
that God would you teach today from His Word? What is the new thing from the
true grace that God desires to give to you today? What is the burden of the
LORD Jesus Christ?
Tis true, tis true indeed, as Jesus said He
that is faithful in little is faithful in much. Mark 2:22 says, And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth
burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but
new wine must be put into new bottles. I Corinthians 5:7 says, Purge out
therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For
even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Jesus is the mediator of the
New Covenant. To be faithful in the new things each day even the little things
is the way to increase in the grace and majesty of Christ.
In talking
about God creating a new thing in the earth we should consider this promise
from the word of God in Revelation 21:1, And I saw a new heaven and a new
earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was
no more sea. The will of God and the wheels of God are spinning onward in
time towards that day when God shall make a new heaven and a new earth. In this
world of sin and suffering it may be hard at times to see the new thing which
God creates each day in the earth. Nonetheless those that seek it shall find it
day by day and with each passing moment.
In
understanding this question: Jeremiah 23:33, What is the burden of the
LORD? Thou shalt say unto them, What
burden? We should consider the teaching of law and grace. Law and grace
is like 69. All men have sinned and failed at the law of God. Christ has
fulfilled the law. The righteousness of Christ is imputed unto us. This is
grace. It is freely given by faith in His promises. The burden of the LORD is
always a 69 of somekind. There is always something
God is turning around and making better. Sin destroys. The devil destroys. But
Christ turns it all into a 69 of law and grace. Just as there was darkness upon
all the world from the 6th hour until the
9nth hour when Christ hung on the Cross. Matthew 27:45 says, Now from the
sixth hour there was a darkness over all the and unto the ninth hour. Luke 23:44
says, And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over
all the earth until the ninth hour.
Behold the
LORD hath created a new thing in the earth. What is the burden of the LORD in
this age of grace today? Let us understand grace by understanding grace in the
Old and New Testament. The Word for grace in the Old Testament is the word, lovingkindness. It is a Hebrew word that almost sounds
like kissed. Have you been kissed by Jesus. Kiss the Son lest He be angry and thou perish from the way. The word lovingkindess is a word that is mostly translated mercy in
the Old Testament. It is a word that speaks of zeal and passion. When you think of grace in the Old Testament think of mercy and lovingkindness. The Old Testament represents for us
the age of the law; the age which came before the age of grace. In that age life was much harder, harsher and
crueler. The easiest way to see the different between law and grace is remember
that Christ fulfilled the law. Before Christ died on the cross man lived under
the law. Also look at technology in our society today. In the days of the age
of the law men did not have computers, cars, airplanes, medicines, or even
telephones. Think of a telephone for example. With just the dial of a button
you can contact loved ones miles away from you. It was not that many years ago
there was no such thing as telephones. Sometimes men would wait months to hear
from family that lived far away. Technology is Gods grace to men in this world
today. Life was much harder a long time ago. In the age
of the law God emphasized His grace by emphasizing His mercy and the effort
that God put into the things that He did. This is something that other men
could in those days appreciate more because they lived in times which were
harsh and in which they labored and toiled greatly. To know that God was
putting forth such a great effort to give them mercy in an age in which they
lived under the law and faced harsher consequences for their sins is just the
right way to emphasis and reveal grace. But in an age in which we live under
grace what is emphasized is what God gives freely. And all good things come
from God. If however you come to understand the lovingkindness
of Gods grace, the effort, the labour, the zeal that
Christ puts forth to give you freely in all things; from the gospel to the
eating of a box of crackers then you will understand so much about grace and how
much grace is in your life today.
Exodus 34:6
says, And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, the
LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and
truth. Mercy and grace go together. Grace and lovingkindness
go together. Law and grace go together. Perhaps the burden of the LORD in this
age of grace is that men would not turn grace into lasciviousness. How much God
freely gives. So good are the things that God gives.
God hath spoken and God shall make it good through Christ and through the blood
of Christ. Count your blessings one by one. What are the good things in your
life today? How can you use them for the glory of Jesus Christ? Just to believe on the name of Jesus, just to
be thankful and to enjoy the good things of God is to use the grace of God for
a great work in your life. Just to be faithful in the little things is to enjoy
the new things God creates each day.
Zechariah 10:8
says, I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them
and they shall increase as they have increased. To be saved from your sins
and receive eternal life is an increase. To grow in your faith is an increase.
Behold the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth. With each new day there
is an increase. With each new thing that God does in the earth there is an
increase of grace in this age of grace. The new things are increasing each day
and shall continue to increase in preparation for the return of Christ. Christ
is going to gather the church. This gathering, this twinkling of an eye, this
rapture, is a work of lovingkindness and grace. If
you understand the twinkling of an eye and the great amount of effort, planning
and work God has put into the past few thousand years for those who watch and
wait and do not sleep you shall increase just as those men of renown of the
faith such as Moses, Abraham, the Apostle Paul, Elijah, Othniel,
and many others increased. The LORD hath created a new thing in the earth and
this new thing is a great opportunity of grace in these perilous times.
Set thee up waymarks, make they high
heaps. The LORD hath created a new thing in the earth. Christ shall hiss for
them. Christ shall gather them. Grace shall increase as it has increased until
the twinkling of an eye.
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Copyright; 2013 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved