New Covenant OPC Sermon Podcast

In Philippians 3:17-4:1 Paul urges the Philippians to be fellow imitators of Christ with him. There are many who walk as enemies of the cross of Christ, but we are to be heavenly minded, looking with eager anticipation to the return of the Savior.

In Isaiah 63:1-6 Isaiah gives the final of four messianic prophecies in chapters 59-63. Here the emphasis falls on Christ coming in judgment. How does this judgment relate to the other oracles of salvation? We see here that salvation comes through judgment. The judgment of sin on the cross is the surest guarantee of another future judgment which will destroy the wicked and bring vindication to the godly.

Christ's work as priest is not limited to his sacrifice on the cross. He continues to serve as priest having been raised from the dead. He is the priest forever after the order of Melchizedek and pleads the merits of his blood on behalf of his people.

Jesus is our great High Priest, through whom the way has been opened to God. How was this way opened? Through his death. Christ is both the priest and the sacrifice whereby we are cleansed from our sins and enabled to approach God without fear.

In Philippians 3:12-16 Paul exhorts the Philippians to strive for more in the Christian life. It can be so easy to be complacent in the Christian life, but Paul teaches us the Christian life is one that is always to be filled with striving for more.

In Isaiah 62:1-9 Isaiah speaks about the prayers that ought to be made to God in light of the coming of Christ. The passage actually starts out with an example of Christ's prayers for the restoration of the people of God. These prayers are made constantly to God. We do not have, however, only a prophecy of Christ's prayer, Isaiah also tells us that Christ will set watchman to pray unceasingly to God for the restoration of Zion. The instructions given to them is to "give Him no rest." Such is to be our perseverance in prayer for the Kingdom of God.

Philippians 3:1-11 is a major passage used by those who teach the New Perspective on Paul. Pastor Grasso shows that the historic Reformed position on justification is the teaching of the Bible.

In Isaiah 61:10-62:12 Isaiah gives three ways in which we are to respond to the good news of the coming Messiah: Rejoice, pray, and evangelize. We live in the days where all these things have been fulfilled, and therefore, we ought all the more to do these three things.

In Philippians 3:1-11 Paul is speaking about true versus false Christianity. What was it that enabled him to see through temptation of false Christianity? It was his rejoicing in Christ. Paul simply counted Christ as more valuable than anything that might be offered to him, and indeed, more valuable than life itself.

Zion benefits from the salvation worked by Christ, the Anointed Preacher. She will be restored with all the nations serving her and her people acting as priests to the world. Such is the glory of the Church in the days we are living in now.

In Philippians 3:1-11 Paul exhorts the Philippians to be aware of merely external Christianity. The Pharisaical Christians were diligent to circumcise the body but did not strive to circumcise the heart. True Christianity, however, is that which focuses on the heart.

In Isaiah 61:1-3, Isaiah returns to prophesying of the Lord Jesus Christ. Here he is described as a prophet who proclaims good news to the poor. Christ declares himself to be the fulfillment in Luke 4 where he reads this passage from Isaiah and declares it fulfilled in the hearing of the people.

In Philippians 2:19-30 Paul commends Timothy and Epaphroditus to the Philippians. By this commendation Paul teaches us that we ought to honor those who suffer and labor for the kingdom of God and emulate their faithfulness.

Zion was in darkness due to her sins, but now, as a result of the salvation worked through the Messiah, light arises over her. The coming of Christ leads to all nations coming and serving Zion, bringing their tribute, as she is gloriously transformed in the new creation. The gifts that are brought are fulfilled when the light of a star arises over Christ and the Magi bring their gifts of tribute to him at his birth.

In Philippians 2:12-18, Paul continues to exhort the Philippian Church to godliness. How are we to understand these exhortations in light of the doctrine of justification by faith? First, there is no merit in works even though they are necessary. Second, the ability to do good works comes form God himself. Therefore, we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling knowing it is God who works in us. This godly living must be from the heart and exclude all forms of complaining.

God looks and sees that there is no one righteous, no one to deliver His people, and so He Himself acts as deliverer, putting on the armor of God. He sends a Savior to Zion who banishes ungodliness from her by the Word and Spirit. Ultimately, the prophets see only the work of the Messiah as the true hope for the people of God in their sin.

In Philippians 2:5-11 contains one of the most glorious descriptions of the incarnation in the entire Bible. This doctrine, however, is also intensely practical. Christ, being fully God and yet emptying himself and submitting to death, is the greatest example of humility the world has ever seen or will ever see. Christ becomes the pattern for his people and their motivation for humility. Implicitly the text promises, if you humble yourself like Christ, you will also be exalted like him.

In Isaiah 59:1-15 Isaiah returns to the theme of the sins of God's people. Their sin causes a separation from God and is described as being in darkness. Sin and the judgment that follows is related to the darkness of non-creation. The light of salvation bursting through the darkness signals a new creation.

Augustine tells us that the first, second, and third principles of the Christian life are humility, humility, and humility. In Philippians 2:1-4 Paul exhorts the Church to humility on the basis of the benefits of the gospel. Biblical humility is considering others before ourselves and seeking to serve them and meet their needs.

Having discussed true fasting, Isaiah moves on to describe faithful Sabbath keeping. God has set apart one day in seven for the worship of His name. This is not a day for the pursuit of our own pleasure but a day consecrated to God. From the beginning of the world until the coming of Christ, this day was Saturday, but from his resurrection all the way to his return, the day is Sunday, the Lord's Day, the day when the new creation was established.

In Philippians 1:27-30 Paul transitions from speaking of his own sufferings to those of the Philippians. Their standing firm is a sign of their salvation. He also explains that suffering is actually a gift from God.

In Isaiah 58:1-12 Isaiah addresses the people's hypocrisy in fasting. They believed that their fasting was pleasing to Him, and yet God actually despised it. Fasting without love and compassion for others is not pleasing to God. Our worship is merely hypocrisy if it is done in hatred of our brothers and sisters.

In Philippians 1:19-26 Paul teaches us how we are to understand life and death by way of the example of his own life. Our life is meant to be used to glorify God. Our death is joy because it means fellowship with Christ.

Isaiah contrasts the house of the prostitute with the house that is faithful to Him. Those who trust in God will inherit the mountain of God and dwell with Him forever. They come to this inheritance being led by God Himself on the highway prepared for this very purpose.

In Philippians 1:12-18 Paul begins to explain his own circumstances. Paul wrote the letter to the Philippians from prison, and in this passage Paul explains how his suffering has led to the advancement of the gospel. His suffering is an example of the way in which we are to suffer in this life.

Having described the wickedness of Israel's leaders, Isaiah moves on to describe the sins of the people. The people of God have been faithless in their idolatry, which the prophets everywhere take to be adultery against God. To be faithful to God, we must worship Him according to His Word.

In Philippians 1:9-11 Paul prays that the Philippians would grow in love, knowledge, and discernment in view of the return of Christ. Paul's prayer is a reminder that we must all live with the return of Christ in view.

Isaiah says that the faithful outsider will be included in the kingdom of God (56:1-8), but the faithless insider will be excluded. Here the focus is on the leadership of the people of God. Poor leadership causes great harm to the church.

In Philippians 1:1-8 Paul shows his great affection for the Philippians. This love was built on the foundation of God's work in the lives of the Philippians and their subsequent partnership in the gospel with him. All Christians ought to be united together in the same love for each other.

The gospel often comes to those who are overlooked in society. Isaiah, prophesying of the days of Christ, speaks of the inclusion of the eunuch and the foreigner in the kingdom of God. This is fulfilled pointedly with the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8.

In Zechariah 6:9-15 the prophet prophesies of a glorious King, called "the Branch" who will reign as a glorious priest-king. He will build the house of the Lord as promised to David. This refers to none other than Jesus Christ who has built the true house for God in the incarnation and by building up the church with living stones, and who will build the new heavens and the new earth as the ultimate house wherein God will dwell with man forever.

In Psalm 89 the Psalmist rejoices in the glory of the Davidic Covenant, but also laments its apparent failure in exile. What are we to do when outwardly God's promises do not appear to be coming to fruition? We are to walk by faith, not by sight, believing that God will bring everything to pass that He has promised. We see that God was faithful even when His people were faithless in that the birth of Christ was the ultimate fulfillment of what was promised to David.

In Daniel 7:1-14 Daniel is given a terrifying vision of the rise of various beastly kingdoms. These kingdoms refer tot he kingdoms of the world which are always against the people of God. The Son of Man, however, has received a kingdom that eclipses all of them.

Psalm 72 contains a long prayer for the King, but not just any king: The climactic Son of David, the Messiah. This King will reign in righteousness and have an everlasting kingdom that is glorious beyond comprehension. Christ is this King who has come, and we are called upon to pray that His Kingdom would come.

Psalm 45 describes the Messiah as a great, victorious King given a beautiful bride. The Messiah is called "God" being anointed by God, the Father for kingship. The bride, therefore, is the people of God who are called to leave everything for the love of the bridegroom.

Ezekiel 37:15-28 predicts that the Son of David, called David in the text, will bring about the fulfillment of all of God's promises. This King will heal the division between the people o fGod, turn them back from their backslidings, bring them back to the Promised Land, so that God can dwell with his people. All of this is fulfilled in Christ in whom all the promises of God are "yes" and "amen".

Psalm 2 predicts the coming of Christ as the one who will rule over all the nations. Though the nations oppose His rule, He will rule over them with a rod of iron. Therefore, God laughs at the attempts of His enemies to oppose Him. Christians, therefore, ought to take comfort knowing that Christ will always conquer all of His enemies.

In 1 Samuel 18:17-30 Saul attempts to persecute David subtly through his daughters. Like Laban with Jacob, he refuses to honor his promise to give David his daughter in marriage. Ultimately, however, God uses these subtle attempts to persecute David to exalt him further. We learn that God is always able to overturn persecution and to use it to advance His kingdom.

In Matthew 17:1-8 Christ brings Peter, James, and John up the mountain and is transfigured before them. Christ gives a foretaste of His glory and the majestic voice is borne from heaven testifying of His greatness. What are we to do in response to this? Listen to Him.

In 1 Samuel 18:1-16, there are two very different responses to David. On the one hand Jonathan's soul is knit to David's in love. On the other, Saul greatly opposes him. Though Jonathan and Saul are from the same family and have so much in common, there is a more fundamental reality that divides them. Jonathan is part of the seed of the woman and naturally loves those who fear God. Saul, on the other hand, is part of the seed of the serpent and is naturally at enmity with those who fear God.

In Matthew 16:24-28 Christ calls on His disciples to pick up their crosses and follow Him. This may appear to be a foolish thing to do as it leads to death. Christ, however, shows that it is in fact the only wise thing to do because "Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Christ's sake will find it."

1 Samuel 17:1-58 tells the well-known story of David and Goliath. David's defeat of Goliath is meant to be a type of Christ. David's defeat of Goliath indicates that Christ is the giant-defeating, dragon-slaying King whose victory means victory for all of God's people over the devil.

In Matthew 16:24-28, after shockingly predicting His own death, Christ calls upon His disciples to pick up their own crosses and follow Him to that death. The call to follow Christ is a call to a life of self-sacrifice.

1 Samuel 17:1-58 tells the well-known story of David and Goliath. It is important to remember that David's life is meant to be understood as a prophecy of Christ. David is a type of Christ, and therefore, his victory over Goliath is meant to be understood as a prophecy of how Christ will defeat the devil. What we understand about Christ from this text is that He is the true King after God's own heart, who defeats the enemy as the great Shepherd King.

In Matthew 16:17-20 Christ responds to Peter's confession by telling him that He will build the Church on Peter and that He will give to Peter (and the Apostles by extension) the keys of the Kingdom. The "keys of the Kingdom" are the symbol of Church power. The Church is often overlooked today, but it is crucial for the Christian life.

1 Samuel 17:1-58 tells the well-known story of David and Goliath. David's courageous faith is an example to us in today's world. In the face of great opposition, David trusts in God and enters the battle with Goliath with the confidence that God is with him. Today, as the church is opposed more and more, there is a great need for such courageous faith.

In Matthew 16:13-17 Peter makes the climactic confession of the first half of Matthew’s Gospel: You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. As Christ, Jesus is the anointed Prophet, Priest, and King, the promised Savior spoken of by the Prophets. As the Son of God, He is the second person of the Trinity existing forever with the Father and of the same substance as Him. All those who make this confession are blessed.

In 1 Samuel 16:14-23 Saul receives an evil spirit, which torments him. This spirit comes upon him after the Holy Spirit leaves him. The result is that Saul’s servants suggest bringing David into the royal court to play for Saul. God thus shows His inscrutable providence in using evil spirits and the seemingly random wills of men to accomplish His purposes.

In 2 Corinthians 9:1-15 Paul gives instructions for giving. The purpose of this portion of Paul’s letter is to exhort the Corinthians to be faithful in giving, but also to consider the spiritual benefit of giving. In light of the blessings that accrue to the giver, Christians ought to give out of love, not compulsion.

In 1 Samuel 16:1-13 we are introduced to David, the man after God’s own heart.  Unlike Saul, the King like all the other nations, David is the smallest in his family.  There is nothing outward back by which it would be obvious that he should be king.  This, however, is not a criteria for kingship for God, for man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart.  This anointing of David foreshadows and is a prophecy of the anointing of Christ, who would have even less outwardly to commend Him to the mind of men to the office of Christ.  For those who have the eyes to see, however, Jesus truly is the Messiah.