A New Heart to Obey

Text: Ezekiel 36:26–28

The Christian life often raises a crucial question: How does obedience actually happen in us? Is it sheer human willpower? Is it simply determination to do better? Or is there something deeper, something that God Himself provides?

In Ezekiel 36:26–28, God speaks directly to this question. Through the prophet, He says:

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. You will live in the land that I gave to your fathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.”

Notice already: obedience is not presented as something we generate, but something God creates within us.

The Human Promise vs. the Human Problem
If we go back to Israel’s covenant experience at Sinai, we hear the people say in Exodus 19:8, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” Later, when Moses read the Book of the Covenant, they answered again in Exodus 24:3, 7, “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.”

This was a bold promise! But as the rest of the story shows, Israel could not keep it. Their lips said, “We will obey,” but their hearts were still hardened.

This is our problem too. We may promise God in our prayers, “Lord, I will do better.” We may make resolutions and commitments. But without a transformed heart, our obedience quickly falters.

God’s Power in Our Weakness
So how then does obedience take place? Paul gives us insight in 2 Corinthians 12:10: “When I am weak, then I am strong.” Obedience is not the fruit of our strength, but of our weakness surrendered to God’s power.

When we admit our inability, when we confess our weakness, then the Spirit works in us to produce what we could never manufacture on our own. Obedience is not us straining harder—it is God filling our weakness with His Spirit’s strength.

The “I Will” of God
Return now to Ezekiel 36:26–28 and notice the repeated “I” statements from God:

• “I will give you a new heart.”

• “I will put a new spirit within you.”

• “I will remove the heart of stone.”

• “I will give you a heart of flesh.”

• “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes.”

Do you see it? The secret of obedience is not “we will” but “I will.” God Himself takes the initiative. He changes our heart. He fills us with His Spirit. He causes us to walk in His ways.

Obedience is not something we achieve—it is something we receive. It is God’s work, planted in us, producing the fruit of faithfulness.

God Working in Us
And so, we return to Paul’s words in Philippians 2:13:

“For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

Our calling is not to strive in our own power but to surrender, to trust, and to yield to the One who has promised: “I will give you a new heart.”

The question of obedience is answered not by human promises, but by divine power. We can live faithfully, because God Himself lives in us.

A Covenant Sealed with a Meal

 

“A Covenant Sealed with a Meal”
Text: Exodus 24:9–18

Introduction
In Exodus 24, we reach one of the most breathtaking moments in all of Scripture. God had just confirmed His covenant with His people at Sinai. The people had promised, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do” (Exod. 24:3). Now, beginning in verse 9, we are told that Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy of Israel’s elders went up the mountain. And there, they saw the God of Israel. Beneath His feet was a pavement of sapphire, clear as the heavens themselves. And what happened next was just as amazing—they ate and drank in His presence.

The Covenant Meal
This was not just any meal. It was the sealing of the covenant between God and His people. In the ancient world, eating together was a sign of trust, friendship, and fellowship. To share a meal was to share life. Here, the leaders of Israel were given the extraordinary honor of eating in the very presence of the Holy God.

Think of what this meant: the God who had thundered from the mountain now welcomed them at His table. The covenant was not simply words spoken—it was fellowship experienced. It reminds us that our God is not distant or aloof. He calls His people into relationship, and one of the deepest ways He shows it is through a shared meal.

Meals in the Story of Redemption
Meals appear again and again in the story of salvation. In the Gospels, Jesus often sat at the table with tax collectors and sinners (Luke 5:29–32). To eat with them was considered scandalous, but Jesus showed that God’s grace welcomes the outcast and the unworthy.

And of course, the most significant meal of all was the Last Supper. On that night, Jesus took bread and broke it, saying, “This is My body, given for you.” He took the cup and said, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:26–28). Just as the elders of Israel ate and drank in God’s presence to confirm the covenant at Sinai, so the disciples ate and drank with Jesus to confirm the new covenant in His blood.

When we come to the Lord’s Table today, we are reminded that God has drawn near, that we have fellowship with Him, and that our covenant relationship with Him is sealed not by our promises, but by the sacrifice of Christ.

The Warning of Israel’s Leaders
Yet, Exodus 24 also gives us a sobering lesson. These very leaders, who saw the God of Israel and ate in His presence, would later falter. Aaron would fashion the golden calf (Exod. 32). Nadab and Abihu would offer unauthorized fire before the Lord and be consumed (Lev. 10:1–2). The people who vowed, “We will obey,” quickly turned aside.

How can it be that those who tasted such glory could fall away so quickly? The answer is that experiences alone cannot sustain faith. We may see God’s power, hear His Word, even sit at His table, but if our hearts drift toward the world, we too can fall.

Holding Fast to the Feast of the Lord
The question for us today is this: How can we taste what the Lord has to offer and not lose our faith to the world? The answer lies in abiding in Christ daily, not just in moments of spiritual excitement. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).

We remain faithful not by relying on a single mountain-top experience, but by continually feeding on Christ, through prayer, through His Word, and through fellowship with His people. Every time we come to the Lord’s Table, we are reminded that He alone can satisfy the hunger of our souls.

Let Us Taste
In Exodus 24, the leaders of Israel ate and drank in God’s presence. It was a glimpse of glory, but it was also a call to covenant faithfulness. Sadly, many of them turned away. But we have been invited to a greater table—the table of Christ, where His body and blood seal for us the everlasting covenant.

So let us not taste of the Lord’s goodness and then be lured away by the empty offerings of the world. Instead, let us remain at His table, feeding daily on His grace, until that day when we will sit with Him at the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9).

The Covenant and the Call to Relationship

 The Covenant and the Call to Relationship

Exodus 24:1–8

Brothers and sisters, today we turn to Exodus 24:1–8, a powerful moment when God and His people entered into a covenant at Sinai. The passage describes two key actions: the reading of God’s Word and the sprinkling of blood. Together, they show us how deeply God desires not just obedience from His people, but a real, living relationship with them.

First, Moses read aloud the words of the covenant—God’s law, His commands, His instructions. The people responded with confidence: “All that the Lord has said we will do, and be obedient.” (Exod. 24:7). Their words were sincere, but as we know, their obedience was short-lived. Soon they turned aside to idols and rebellion. This shows us the reality of human weakness—we may promise with enthusiasm, but our strength cannot carry us far.

Then came the sprinkling of the blood. Moses took the blood of the sacrifice and sprinkled it on the altar and the people, saying, “Behold, the blood of the covenant which the Lord has made with you.” The blood symbolized cleansing, sealing, and life given. It was God’s way of saying that the covenant was not just about rules but about a bond—a relationship established through sacrifice.

That is the heart of our God. He is not a God of mere agendas, contracts, or legal codes. He is a God of relationships. His covenant is never just “Do this and live,” but rather, “I will be your God, and you will be My people.” That is why Jesus later declared in John 12:32, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” The cross was the ultimate sprinkling of blood—not on stone or on an altar, but poured out once for all, to draw us into a living relationship with Him.

And so we see: our promises alone will fail, just as Israel’s did. We cannot sustain obedience by willpower. What God requires is not empty vows but a heart bound to Him in love. A close, personal relationship with God is the only way to overcome our weakness and fragility. His Spirit within us makes obedience possible. His grace empowers us to walk in faithfulness.

Let us remember today: we cannot just promise to obey. We must be drawn to Christ, held by His blood, and live daily in a relationship with Him. Only then will His covenant promises truly be written on our hearts. Amen.

More on: Lesson 10 - The Covenant and the Blueprint

Sabbath School Lesson 10: The Covenant and the Blueprint

 EXODUS 

Sabbath School Lesson 10

The Covenant and the Blueprint 

You may use this for presenting and studying the current Sabbath School Lesson.

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More Lesson 10:

Sunday: The Book and the Blood

Monday: Seeing God

Tuesday: Power to Obey

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> Download the notes for Lesson 10 video here.

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Perfect Love as Our Father Loves

 

Perfect Love as Our Father Loves

Text: Matthew 5:43–48

When we think of Jesus’ most challenging commands, few strike deeper than His words in Matthew 5:44: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” And then, as if to sum it all up, He adds in verse 48: “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

Why does Jesus link these two ideas—loving those who hate us and being “perfect” like our heavenly Father? What is He teaching us about perfection in the Christian life?

God’s Standard of Love
When Jesus speaks of loving our enemies, He is showing us that God’s love is not selective. He does not love only the good or the righteous. Jesus points out that the Father “makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:45).

God’s love is abundant, unconditional, and impartial. That’s the standard He calls us to imitate. True love goes beyond human fairness—it mirrors the divine generosity that gives without expecting anything in return.

Human Nature vs. Divine Nature
It is natural for us to love those who love us. Even unbelievers can do that. But to love those who hate us? That requires something beyond human strength—it requires God’s Spirit dwelling within us.

Jesus is not merely giving us a higher moral code; He is revealing the character of God Himself and inviting us to reflect that character. By loving our enemies, we show that we are children of our heavenly Father.

What Does It Mean to Be “Perfect”?
The word “perfect” here in the Greek (teleios) does not mean flawless in the way we might think, but rather complete, mature, whole. To be perfect as our Father is perfect means to be complete in love.

God’s perfection is revealed in His all-embracing love. He holds nothing back. His mercy and compassion reach to all. So when Jesus calls us to be perfect, He is calling us to be complete in love—to extend it even to those who seem least deserving.

Why This Command Follows Love of Enemies
Jesus places the command to be perfect directly after telling us to love our enemies because this is the true test of completeness in love. It is easy to claim love when it costs little. But to forgive, to pray for, and to bless those who hurt us—that is the fullest expression of God’s love shining through us.

Without this love, our lives are incomplete. With it, we reflect the very heart of our heavenly Father.

The Perfection We Grow Into
Jesus does not expect instant flawlessness from His followers. Instead, He calls us into a lifelong journey of growing in love. The more we yield to Him, the more His Spirit fills us, the more we resemble our Father.

Perfection, then, is not about legalistic rule-keeping, but about growing into the likeness of God’s love. Paul echoes this when he says: “And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection” (Col. 3:14).

The Challenge of Our Loving Others
Jesus’ words challenge us to the very core. To love those who hate us is not natural—but it is divine. And when we do so, we reveal whose children we are.

To be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect is to love with His love—to give without measure, to forgive without end, and to extend grace even to our enemies.

This is the life Christ calls us to. And it is possible, not by our own strength, but through the Spirit who makes us more and more like Jesus until the day when His love is fully formed in us.

Call to Action
Ask yourself: Is there someone in my life I find impossible to love? How might God be calling me to love them as He has loved me? Pray for strength to love beyond your own limits. In doing so, you will be growing into the perfection of your heavenly Father.