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Covenant: Do it Anyway
Pastor Rollan Fisher
As we continue to live through the Pandemic, it is a good time to reestablish the purpose and importance of Biblical relationships.
To do so, over the next several weeks we will be studying the life of the Israeli hero David during a particular season of his life prior to his kingship.
In David’s life we will see fleshed out the meaning of covenant - gaining a better understanding of God’s covenant with us and the value of our covenant relationships with his people to whom he joins us.
Focus: We will better understand covenant when we know that it is meant to catalyze our participation in the PURPOSES of God.
A Picture of Biblical Covenant
Covenant and the Purposes of God
When there is no Covenant
God Delivers Anyway
A Picture of Biblical Covenant
1 Samuel 23:1-14
Now they told David, “Behold, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are robbing the threshing floors.” Therefore David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go and attack these Philistines?” And the Lord said to David, “Go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah.” But David's men said to him, “Behold, we are afraid here in Judah; how much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?”
Then David inquired of the Lord again. And the Lord answered him, “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.” And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines and brought away their livestock and struck them with a great blow.
So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah. When Abiathar the son of Ahimelech had fled to David to Keilah, he had come down with an ephod in his hand. Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, “God has given him into my hand, for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars.” And Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.
David knew that Saul was plotting harm against him. And he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” Then David said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard?
O Lord, the God of Israel, please tell your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will come down.” Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the Lord said, “They will surrender you.” Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go.
When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition. And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.
What is God teaching us?
What can we learn from this Biblical example?
In this passage we see a clear picture of what it looks like when you are in covenant with people (David and his men).
You also see a clear picture of what it looks like when you are not (Keilah).
First, we need to understand the nature of covenant.
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
-African Proverb
Covenant is an ongoing commitment between two parties centered around a set of agreed upon standards or expectations.
It can otherwise be known as a pact with the intent of accomplishing a common goal.
Why are covenant relationships important in your life?
You will always have people in life who attempt to use you for their benefit alone.
It is the gift of God and a jewel when you find people with whom you share a mutual concern and commitment.
The latter are people of covenant with whom you need to build your life.
This is part of the promise of the Kingdom of God.
In this I Samuel passage, we see that David was in covenant with his men with whom he went to fight.
He was not in covenant with the people of Keilah who were willing to turn him over to Saul when they were threatened.
This is the difference between relationship of covenant and that which is not.
Though they benefited from David’s efforts, the people of Keilah showed no commitment to David or his men.
David and his men, however, were committed to one another despite the difficulties of their battles and their ongoing flight from King Saul.
Covenant and the Purposes of God
Covenant relationships are often the relationships that God uses to propel you into his kingdom purposes.
We all need relationships like these in our lives.
Who determines with whom we are in covenant?
It is God who determines the people with whom we should build our lives in covenant.
God introduces us to these people through life circumstances, the leading of the Holy Spirit and the gospel.
Those prepared for covenant with us are not often the people we would choose, but in God’s wisdom, they are the people whom we need.
Who were David’s men?
I Samuel 22:1-2
David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father's house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men.
David and his men may not have naturally chosen one another.
They certainly would not have chosen the conditions that brought them together.
Yet they are the very relationships that God would use to build them as warriors to advance his purposes throughout the earth.
What were the characteristics of the covenant between David and his men?
David and his covenant men:
Lived life together for God’s heavenly call, motivated by more than individual gain
Traveled together while suffering in the wilderness strongholds (caves) until God brought David into the kingship
Fought together for a kingdom purpose greater than themselves
You see this reflected in the New Testament missionary journeys of men like the apostle Paul and his church planting companions in the book of Acts, who, in the face of great trial and sufferings, successfully spread the gospel throughout the Roman Empire.
It is what God continues to do today through his church.
God often forges covenant relationships in the midst of trial to remind us that the relationships that he builds are meant to endure.
These covenant relationships have the capacity to overcome times of instability and constraint because they are committed to survival and advancement together.
Where has God taken you that you never expected to be?
With whom has God joined you with whom you never expected to be joined?
Prayerfully answering these questions will help us make the most of the opportunities for covenant relationships that God has given us.
When there is no Covenant
Our covenant relationships catalyze our participation in the purposes of God when we’d prefer to go in the opposite direction.
In the I Samuel passage, David’s men certainly would not have chosen to fight the battle at Keilah.
They were already afraid with the instability of their own affairs.
They were living in their own version of the stresses and emotional toil caused by our pandemic.
How could they possibly have the bandwidth to think about this mission?
Though David would initially learn strategy and battle as one of the favored commanders of King Saul’s army, he would learn about the faith-filled, merciful and enduring leadership that it would take to lead a nation of all types in the cave of Adullam.
In the midst of their trial, the rescue of Keilah was a part of David and his men fulfilling God’s Kingdom purpose for them.
Why was Keilah important?
It was a city that meant “citadel” situated in the lowlands of Judah.
Keilah was part of the territory of Israel that the enemies of God, the Philistines, were ransacking and which God wanted to deliver.
David readily recognized this because of the covenant God established with the people Israel by his word, promising to be both their protector and provider as the Israelites lived in obedience in the land to which he called them.
The suffering of the people of Keilah was important to the Lord, so the battle became important to David and his men.
Thus, David rose up in faith and stirred his men to take action.
As our covenant relationships propel us into the purposes of God, they also continually remind us that our God is a deliverer.
Yet before David did anything, he looked to God’s Word and inquired of God in prayer to get the Lord’s direction.
This needs to be our practice.
This will allow Jesus, and not our preferences, to be the one who defines our relationships and involvements.
When we would prefer to remain in caves, it gives room for God to call us out.
I thank God for the people in my life who remind me of the eternal call of God, to win the lost, make disciples and believe for the ever-expanding influence of Christ’s kingdom when we’d all be tempted to be afraid.
The good news is that God does not change his mind even when we need the reassurance of his plan, going repeatedly to him in prayer.
We learn from David’s interaction with his men that we are not to make decisions purely based on what we feel in the natural.
God calls us to advance whether or not there is resistance and even when conditions don’t feel right.
This is why years later, by the Holy Spirit, David’s son, King Solomon would write:
Ecclesiastes 11:4
He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap.
Solomon understood by the example of his father that many of God’s promises are obtained with a struggle and that we realize these promises by faith and endurance as the Lord works through our efforts and on our behalf (Hebrews 6:12).
God uses covenant relationships to teach us how to carry our crosses, allowing the mentality of “relationships on my terms” to die.
We learn how to consider others interests above our own in covenant relationships, and the good of the whole group rather than just my part.
Covenant relationships teach us how not to be selfish.
Though contrary to our feelings, relating this way provides strength in relationships.
Because of their covenant, David and his men were able to enter the battle of Keilah in the strength of their commitment to God and one another.
Yet let’s look at the other side of things.
When there is no covenant, you never know what to expect and you never know what might happen in your relationships.
Why were the people of Keilah ready to give up David and his men who had fought to rescue them from the hands of the Philistines?
It was because they were willing to benefit from David’s service, but they had no covenant with him.
In the previous chapter of I Samuel, we see that King Saul had literally destroyed the priests of Nob because they had unknowingly aided David and his men in their flight from Saul’s murderous pursuits.
How much more would King Saul and his army do to the people of Keilah?
Because there was no covenant, when the people of Keilah were threatened, or their relationship with David was no longer personally advantageous, they were willing to give up David and his men to the hands of Saul to secure their own stability.
This is not Biblical covenant.
Yet most people today would not take issue with this.
The problem, however, is when we think in a short term manner in relationships, there may be momentary gain, but long-term loss in what we experience in the kingdom.
What is unsaid here is that by the commitment to David and his men being unreciprocated, the people of Keilah were leaving themselves exposed to the future attacks of the enemy, the Philistines.
Biblical covenant is what David and his men expressed to one another - fighting together, advancing together and eventually thriving together.
Who have you developed these types of relationships with for God’s Kingdom purposes?
How does this all apply to our lives in Christ?
God Delivers Anyway
Like David, Jesus is our great leader whom we follow in the covenant that he established for us through his death on the cross.
We follow Jesus even in times of displacement and trial until the ultimate coronation of Christ upon his return.
We have the strength to do this by his Spirit, by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.
Yet God has not left us alone in the flesh.
Like David’s mighty men, God intends for us to have covenant with his people, the church.
And in the time between Christ’s first ascension and final return, Jesus commands us to do good, regardless of other people’s responses.
We see throughout Scripture that God initiates covenant with people who end up being faithless towards him at times.
Yet because of his grace, God delivers anyway.
The threshing floor of Keilah is a reflection of Jesus at the cross.
Just as the Philistines were fighting against Keilah and robbing their threshing floors, so there is a devil who looks to besiege the lives of those around you.
Just as in the case of Keilah, there is the better David, King Jesus who fights to save us even before we’ve shown any faithfulness to him (23:2).
John 10:10-21
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” There was again a division among the Jews because of these words. Many of them said, “He has a demon, and is insane; why listen to him?” Others said, “These are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
Jesus here was using the language of covenant commitment.
The most important thing we can learn from the I Samuel passage watching David shepherd his men is elements of God’s covenant with us through Jesus.
Through Christ’s sinless life and sacrificial death on the cross, Jesus took the punishment for our wrongdoing, providing the means for us to establish a covenant with God.
It means that though we were in distress, we were in insurmountable debt before God because of our sin, and bitter in soul because of the harshness of life, Jesus came to save us.
By his resurrection from the dead he allows a turn-around - that those who would repent of their sin might not only be forgiven but come into covenant with him to be reshaped into mighty men and women.
Just as David had been anointed king of Israel by God, so Jesus has been anointed king of all kings and lord of all lords.
Yet just as there was time between David's anointing and ascension to the throne, so there is time now in between Christ’s exaltation by his resurrection from the dead and his final judgment and restoration of all things.
So what is Jesus doing during this time?
Just as David had his mighty men, so Jesus has his church.
Just as David chose through the strength of his relationship with these men to save Keilah, despite their faithlessness, so Jesus comes to save a world where only the few will gain eternal life through Calvary’s grace.
Jesus called his followers to covenant with him and one another to catalyze gospel work - regardless of what you think the world’s response might be.
What is our Keilah and what can we do?
Our Keilahs are the cities in which we live and its people who are being besieged by our adversary, the devil.
Yet even during times of seeming uncertainty, we are grounded in stability because of our covenant with Jesus and one another.
We have nothing to fear, for we know our future destiny in Christ and only have hope to offer.
So from that place of confidence, we can engage even virtually in such things as our Each One Reach One Campaign
Start the One to One with someone
Invite people with you to services and weekly community groups to experience the deliverance of the Lord.
People often abandon God’s kingdom purposes because they have been burnt by relationships in which they invested, for which they fought and bled.
However, as we look to God, we are reminded of his eternal covenant with us, the strength of the covenant relationships he offers us with his people and we rise in faith anyway.
Let the words of Mother Theresa propel you on:
Mother Theresa’s, Do it Anyway
People are often unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
We are in the throws of a life-altering societal shift.
Yet God is using this time to develop and reinforce life-long covenant relationships that will catalyze the purposes of God in your life.
Just as David and his men in their time of trial saw the deliverance of Keilah, so God will save many during our pandemic as we choose to be about Christ’s purposes anyway.
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Second City Church - Covenant, Pastor Rollan Fisher 2020