Renewed

A New Season of Renewal: Stepping Into God's Covenant

Have you ever felt like you've missed your chance? Like you broke something precious and there's no way to restore it? The beautiful truth is that God is in the business of renewal. He doesn't just patch things up—He makes them completely new.

The God of Second (and Third, and Fourth) Chances

The story of Moses and the stone tablets reveals something profound about God's character. When the Israelites broke their covenant with God, shattering the first tablets containing the Ten Commandments, God didn't say "that's it, we're done." Instead, He told Moses to cut new tablets, declaring, "I will write on these tablets the same words."

This is revolutionary. Just because you've broken covenant with God doesn't mean it can't be restored. Maybe you've backslidden, fallen away, or taken a misstep. Perhaps you feel like your failures have disqualified you from God's promises. But here's the truth: the covenant God made with you is still available today.

God isn't just the God of second chances—He's the God of third chances, fourth chances, and as many chances as it takes. His compassion doesn't run out. His mercy doesn't have a limit. The prodigal son can always come home to the Father.

The Word That Never Returns Void

Here's something remarkable: the word God gave you when you first encountered Him hasn't changed. Isaiah 55:11 reminds us that God's word doesn't return void—it accomplishes exactly what He desires and achieves the purpose for which He sent it.

That calling on your life? It's still valid. That promise He whispered to your heart years ago? It hasn't expired. God's gifts and callings are irrevocable. They can't be changed or turned around. Whatever He told you is still yours today.

You might think you've missed your window of opportunity, but that word is still alive and active. The same covenant, the same promises, the same purpose—all available to you right now.

Three Keys to Renewed Covenant

When God called Moses to renew the covenant, He gave him three specific instructions that apply to us today:

1. Be Ready

God told Moses to "be ready in the morning." This wasn't just about timing—it was about priority. First thing. Before anything else. Before checking your phone, before rushing out the door, before the chaos of the day begins.

"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" isn't just a nice idea—it's an invitation to action. It means prayer comes first. Time in His presence comes first. Reading and sharing His word comes first.

But there's another dimension to being ready. Matthew 24:44 warns us: "Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." We don't know when Jesus will return, but we're closer today than we were yesterday.

Here's the key: if you stay ready, you won't have to get ready.

2. Come Up

God didn't just tell Moses to be ready—He told him to "come up" to Mount Sinai. This is a call to elevation, to rising above surface-level faith.

Many believers are content with shallow spirituality. We want just enough God to feel good on Sunday but not enough to transform our Monday through Saturday. But God is calling us higher. He wants to take us to different levels of faith.

When you enter a relationship with God, it doesn't become final when you say "amen." Could you imagine getting married, saying "I do," and then walking away to live separate lives? Of course not. Growth requires constant pursuit.

Isaiah 40:31 promises that "those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength." But waiting doesn't mean passive patience—it means actively serving and submitting to God's plan. Those who serve the Lord, who submit everything to Him, will mount up with wings like eagles. They'll run and not be weary. They'll walk and not faint.

If you want to see God's glory come down, you've got to come up. God descends when we ascend. He meets us when we change our position.

3. Present Yourself

When Moses finally came up the mountain, God descended in a cloud and stood beside him. He didn't put on a spectacular show. He simply stood there and proclaimed His character: loving, compassionate, merciful, gracious, long-suffering, abounding in goodness and truth, forgiving.

Sometimes we expect God to show up with fireworks and fanfare. But often, He just wants to stand beside us and remind us who He is. He wants us to feel His presence.

Moses's response? He bowed his head and worshiped.

This is the presentation God requires—not dead sacrifices, but living worship. Romans 12:1 calls us to "present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God." You were once dead, but you've been made alive in Christ. You are a living sacrifice.

Worship in Spirit and Truth

John 4:23 tells us that "the Father is seeking such to worship Him" in spirit and in truth. God is actively looking for worshipers. He's searching for people who will present themselves holy and acceptable to Him.

Think about making sweet tea. You can brew the tea, add the water, put in the sugar, but if you don't stir it up, you'll only get the bland surface layer. You've got to mix it all together to get the sweetness throughout.

The same is true spiritually. You can be ready, you can come up, but if you don't present yourself in worship—if you don't stir it up—you'll miss the sweetness of God's presence. You'll stay at surface level when God wants to give you depth.

Wonders Never Before Done

God's promise to Moses echoes for us today: "I will do wonders never before done in any nation in all the world. The people you live among will see how awesome is the work that I, the Lord, will do for you."

This isn't just ancient history—it's a present-day promise. God wants to do wonders in your life, in your church, in your community. He's already begun, and He's not done yet.

Your future has been determined by Christ's past. What He accomplished on the cross has already secured your victory. You are a new creation. Old things have passed away. All things have become new.

You're no longer living in last season. You're stepping into something fresh, something powerful, something renewed. The same God who was with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the great I AM—is with you today.

Step Into Your New Season

So here's the challenge: Will you be ready? Will you come up higher? Will you present yourself in worship?

Don't stay where you were. Don't settle for surface faith. Step into the new season God has for you. Increase your faith. Elevate your worship. Give God more in this season than you did in the last.

The covenant is being renewed. The question is: will you receive it?