Sojourners: Covenant
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As we make our way through life as sojourners, one of the greatest anchors to our souls is the fact that God has made a covenant with His people. To truly walk in the transforming power of our covenant with God, we must understand the importance of a covenant, the dynamics of a covenant and, ultimately, who fulfills the covenant for us.
Importance of a Covenant
One of the most beautiful pictures of the gospel begins in Genesis 15:1-6:
After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision:“Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.
What is a covenant?
It is one of the most important themes in the Bible. It literally defines the relationship that you have with God and His people through Jesus His Son. A covenant is like a business deal, but not, because a business deal depends on both parties perfectly fulfilling each of their roles lest the contract be broken.
The picture of a covenant is more clearly seen in the devotion that a couple has toward one another in the bond of marriage. God was introducing the idea of covenant to Abram by telling him that He was Abram's very great reward. Everything else comes as a byproduct of that prioritization.
The doctrine of justification by faith is central to a walk with God. Counting God and His Word as true is the axis of any real relationship with Him. You can not both deny His word and also claim that you are following Him. This is what Abram embraced knowing His inherent inability to deserve the life that God was offering. Pride tries to measure up to God's standards while feeling that you also have a right to judge them. God will always resist a man or woman in this posture.
"But pride always means enmity - it is enmity. And not only enmity between man and man, but enmity to God. In God you come up against something which is in every respect immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that - and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison - you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you." -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (p. 124)
Without a life of worship - this clarity of sight is not realized.
Covenants can be between God and people, people and people, businesses, cities and even nations. It is imperative that you understand the dynamics of your covenant with God.
Dynamics of a Covenant
A covenant is the basis and bedrock of all enduring relationships because it is established on mutually agreed upon principles and is the foundation of trust. Without trust, there are no enduring partnerships and nothing of significance can be built.
Genesis 15:7-11
He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.” But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?” So the Lord said to him, “Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.” Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
If you are anything like Abram, when you are in a new place or on a new venture in obedience to God, you ask Him and yourself, "How can I know that this will succeed?", "How do I know that this will benefit my family and posterity, that this will create a legacy in the city and is not a waste of my time and life?", "How can I know that what I am doing today is more than just a flash in the pan?" God says it is by His covenant and the promises that He makes to you. That is why you want to be sure you are obeying His ways found in His Word, and are in step with His season by His Spirit. There will always be a divine tension between the two that keep you firmly in the safety and prosperity of His covenant. His ways are unchanging; they are static (i.e. - there will never be a time when you do not need to be firmly imbedded in Christ and Church Community through which you help to transform Culture). Your season is fluid; it's dynamic and you must stay in step with the Holy Spirit. We invite you to be a part of both here through our Next Steps.
Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God -Corrie ten Boom
Through the symbolism found in Scripture we see that we will all get to a point in our relationships where it requires that we defend the covenants that we've made. Whether it be with your spouse, your children, your church family or your commitment to the purposes of God, your vows will repeatedly be tested and must be fought for. This is what Abram had to do when the birds of the prey came to steal the preparations for the covenant ritual.
How have you been fighting for the covenants that you have made in your life? How do you need to?
Fulfilling the Covenant
The powerful thing is that when times seem darkest, God is at work to fulfill His covenant with you.
Genesis 15:12-21
As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates— the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites.”
Have you entered into covenant with God?
The gospel tells us that you can repent of (turn away from) your sin and entrust your life to Jesus. Through His sinless life and sacrifice on the cross, He has fulfilled the demands of the covenant completely for you providing for forgiveness of your wayward living.
“When people say, "I know God forgives me, but I can't forgive myself," they mean that they have failed an idol, whose approval is more important than God's.” ― Timothy Keller, Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters
What is the basis of my relationship with God? Will I ever do enough to please Him? What makes me worthy to even be called a child of God? What ensures me that He intends to fulfill His purposes in my life?
Galatians 3:1-9
You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
What this means is that what you have accomplished or will do for Jesus in your industry, the way that you will be a blessing to those around you and ultimately make disciples for Christ, depends upon the covenant that God Himself both initiates with you and fulfills for you. This is why you must remain in Jesus and His Word daily. Like Abram, it is your trust in His complete work that gives you both the confidence to press on and the motivation to believe for things that only He can do.
At the end of the day, it always was and forever will be all about Jesus.
Second City Church- Sojourners Sermon Series 2014