The Cup of the New Covenant: Drink of His Life | Pilot Week | Jan 15, 2026 | CR

Crystal Rivers | Pilot Week | Jan 15, 2026
The message is a powerful call to intimacy with God through sacrifice and transformation, centered on the “Yahweh to Face” theme, which is based on 2 Corinthians 3:18 where believers behold God’s glory “face to face” and are transformed into His likeness. The speaker begins by sharing the ministry schedule and the upcoming Yahweh to Face conference, emphasizing that the purpose of the gathering is to deepen believers’ connection with God, to usher them into a personal encounter, and to help them experience a transformation that goes beyond rituals or religious activities. He explains that Christian life is built on sacrifice because offering oneself creates space for the Holy Spirit to dwell and operate, just as Old Testament sacrifices created a place for God’s presence to hover. Using practical illustrations, he compares the spirit’s invasion into a vessel to pouring liquid into a cup: the vessel takes the form of the liquid, but it is also marked by it. Similarly, when believers present their lives as a sacrifice, the Holy Spirit inhabits them, brands them, and transforms them from within, causing a shift from mere religious identity to genuine spiritual reality. He explains the difference between the Old and New Testament priesthood: in the Old Testament, sacrifices were animals offered through priests to represent the people, while in the New Testament, Jesus Christ became the ultimate sacrifice, transferring righteousness to humanity and receiving the fullness of the Spirit to share with believers. The goal of the New Covenant is not to keep using an intermediary, but for believers to become the sacrifice themselves, allowing the Spirit to rest in them permanently and produce an inner change that cannot be faked. This is why the speaker stresses that to drink of the “cup” of Christ—His life and Spirit—believers must offer their own lives as living sacrifices, opening their heart, mind, will, and body to God, and surrendering every area of their lives to His control. He teaches that the Holy Spirit not only fills believers but also seals and brands them, marking them as God’s own, which should result in a visible lifestyle change and evidence of God’s presence. This branding is not merely spiritual decoration; it is a divine identification that makes believers distinct in their character, actions, and decisions. Using Moses as an example, he highlights the importance of insisting that God’s presence follows wherever believers go, and warns that without this intimacy, even spiritual achievements become empty and believers may be useless in future ages. He encourages believers to value God’s presence more than their own comfort or accomplishments, and to allow the Spirit to shape their decisions and character, reminding them that true greatness is measured by the presence of God in one’s life, not by outward success. He also warns against spiritual pride and laziness, showing that spiritual encounters must translate into responsible living, just as Daniel’s prayer life produced undeniable power, and that a genuine encounter with God should bring about a new lifestyle of discipline, humility, and devotion. The sermon concludes with a heartfelt prayer asking God to make believers His dwelling place and “address,” so that others can see the evidence of His presence in them without them having to announce it. The speaker urges believers to let God announce them, to become living testimonies that draw others to Christ through transformation, not through claims or performance, but through a life that unmistakably reflects God’s face and glory, proving that the encounter was real and permanent.