UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF COVENANT

INTRODUCTION

Be ye mindful always of this covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations; even of the covenant which he made with Abraham and of his oath unto Isaac.

1 chronicles 16:15 – 16

Psalm 89:34 – 40

The Lord God of heaven deals with man; you and I on the basis of the covenant. Outside the covenant platform, God is not under obligation to do anything for humanity.

You may be saying but Pastor, God is mercy, love and compassionate to every generation? It is true. However, the underlying platforms on which he show mercy COVENANT PLATFORM.

On the covenant platform of his son Jesus, we are saved, we are the children of God, and we are the apple of his heart.

On the covenant platform of Abraham, we are entitle to financial prosperity etc

Without the covenant platform, God can not forgive the sinner. Covenant means a lot to God so he said, we should be mindful always of his covenant.

WHAT IS COVENANT? 

Covenant form the Hebrew word “Berith” which means “to cut” or “to divide”. This definition because of custom of ratifying and confirming a covenant by killing animals, cutting them into two (2) and having the parties to the covenant walk between the divided parts.

·         Covenant then is a mutual understanding or undertaking between two or more parties; each binding himself to fulfill obligations.

·         Covenant is an agreement between two or more persons or parties to do or refrain from doing some act.

·         Covenant is alliance, of friendship, a pledge an obligation etc

·         Covenant is a contract, which is accompanied by signs, sacrifices and a solemn oath, which seals the relationship with promises of blessing for obedience and curses for disobedience.

The bible you carry in your hand is called NEW AND OLD TESTAMENT. This means OLD COVENANT and NEW COVENANT

If the whole bible is referred to as covenant book, then anytime you read the bible, you are learning something about covenant.

A CALL TO BE MINDFUL (mind – full of) COVENANT

God is calling on the church to be conscious of the covenant that exist between him and us (the church)

Ref: psalm 74:20; psalm 119: 6, 117, Deuteronomy 8:18

WHY DO I NEED A COVENANT WALK?

There are three (3) basic reasons why you need a covenant walk with God;

1.       So that God can have legal access in my life and circumstances. When there is no covenant, God has no connection. One of the things you get to understand over and over is that God dos not have control over the affairs of man except the one who surrenders to him. John Wesley said that “it seems God is limited by our prayer life – that he can do nothing for humanity unless someone asks him”. In 1949, news paper writer said that “why this is, I do not know” he was referring to the disasters, wars, rapes, accidents, etc. when Kenneth Hagin read this statement he also said, “I didn’t know either”.

 In his book the act of prayer, k. Hagin said that “though some people have built up “spiritual air castles that God is running everything in this world, he is not.

During the Vietnam War, a nationally syndicated newspaper columnist began one column by stating that he not a Christian. He said that he was not an atheist, because the atheist says there is no God. “I suppose you will classify me an agnostic” he wrote. “The agnostic says there may be a God, but if there is I don’t know it. Actually, I am prone to believe that there is a Supreme Being. I do not believe that everything here just happened. I believe there is a creator somewhere.

But I have never read the bible. I do not attend church. One reason I don’t is that what the Christians says about God doesn’t agree with what I think a creator should be, or with what I can see of him in nature.

“Even ministers say, God has everything under control, he is running everything” well if he is, he sure has things in a mess. People are killing each other. Little children are dying, little children are hungry, women are hungry, and there are wars everywhere. “If God has everything in control, do you mean God is running those wars?”

Covenant practice is not for the weak, it is for the strong and those who mean business; the strong take it by force, the kingdom of God. Covenant practice is needed most when there is no strength to do it.