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Covenant: Hope for Relationships
Today, we’ll be diving into this reality:
Focus: We will better understand covenant when we know that it is meant to provide HOPE for all earthly relationships
Disposable Relationships
Covenant Loyalty and Strength
Hope for Broken Relationships
Restoration Through Christ
Disposable Relationships
Covenant reminds us that the relationships that God builds are not disposable.
1 Samuel 26:1-5
Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah, saying, “Is not David hiding himself on the hill of Hachilah, which is on the east of Jeshimon?” So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph with three thousand chosen men of Israel to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul encamped on the hill of Hachilah, which is beside the road on the east of Jeshimon. But David remained in the wilderness. When he saw that Saul came after him into the wilderness, David sent out spies and learned that Saul had indeed come. Then David rose and came to the place where Saul had encamped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, with Abner the son of Ner, the commander of his army. Saul was lying within the encampment, while the army was encamped around him.
What is God teaching us?
What can we learn from this Biblical example?
The last time we heard from Saul, he was affirming the call of God on David’s life.
1 Samuel 24:20-22
And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. Swear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father's house.” And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
Yet there are going to be people in your life who it seems like are always stirring up trouble for you, even when you just want to be left alone.
Now, the Ziphites were once again inciting Saul to his murderous campaign against David and his men.
These were the same ones who were previously attempting to aid Saul against David in I Samuel 23.
Despite the good David had done as commander of Israel’s armies in service to Saul, the people of Ziph considered David disposable.
But why was Saul so hellbent against David?
Saul’s heart was in a bad place - self-centered, insecure, jealous and vindictive.
Because David threatened Saul’s sense of place and identity in the world, David also became a disposable relationship for Saul.
We need to beware the trap of Saul.
So many people have been having a tough time during the pandemic and begin putting their issues on other people as if they are the cause of the problem.
This is what Saul did with David.
Saul didn’t obey God, and focused on David as the threat, the cause of his problems.
He then considered David disposable as the object of his projected frustrations.
But when there’s a pattern and a wake of dysfunctional relationships in my life, could it be that I’m the problem?
I need to stop and ask - am I doing something wrong?
*Unbeknownst to David, this would be the last encounter he would have with Saul.
Very shortly, God would complete his earthly judgment against Saul and he would be killed as a result of battle with the Philistines.
If David had given up at this point, it would have been too early.
Through covenant relationships you are aided in finding the strength to continue on.
Covenant Loyalty and Strength
Covenant allows us to benefit from the strength of loyalty.
I Samuel 26:6-16
Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab's brother Abishai the son of Zeruiah, “Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” And Abishai said, “I will go down with you.” So David and Abishai went to the army by night. And there lay Saul sleeping within the encampment, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head, and Abner and the army lay around him. Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day. Now please let me pin him to the earth with one stroke of the spear, and I will not strike him twice.” But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can put out his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless?” And David said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord's anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go.” So David took the spear and the jar of water from Saul's head, and they went away. No man saw it or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen upon them. Then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill, with a great space between them. And David called to the army, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered, “Who are you who calls to the king?” And David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy the king your lord. This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is and the jar of water that was at his head.”
A DEVELOPED SENSE OF LOYALTY IS GREATER THAN A MENTALITY OF TREATING RELATIONSHIPS AS DISPOSABLE.
What people actually long for is the strength of loyalty found in covenant relationships.
If this is the case, why are so many people abandoning them today?
Workplace culture today:
No pension
No watch
People feel used, many times abused and then replaced
They rarely get a “Thank you”
Maybe you’ve felt this way before.
If so, it is easy to begin to think to yourself, “If this is how the company treats me, and profits are the bottom line, why should I care?”
Yet it is important that you hear this during this time - YOU MATTER - to God, to his people and Christ’s Kingdom purposes.
Covenant is what illuminates this truth and is the canvas on which loyal allegiances are painted.
Now why are these covenant relationships so important to experiencing the strength of God?
“Without friends, no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.”
– Augustine
Think about David’s predicament.
Yet David had Abishai.
What was so significant about how Abishai related to David so that David was able to experience the strength of covenant loyalty through Abishai?
Abishai was on T.A.P. and gave David what it takes to be in covenant relationships:
TIME
AWARENESS
PROACTIVE AVAILABILITY
1. TIME
It takes time sowing into the idea of loyalty to reap the strength of covenant relationships.
You would think it was the other way around, but we say it this way because it is you investing in the value of loyalty that will enable you to develop the covenant relationships you desire.
As always, you need to look to give it before you receive it.
*Decide to be loyal and be amazed at the covenant relationships that God begins adding to your life.
2. AWARENESS
Awareness comes through relational proximity.
David and Abishai were in the flight (from Saul) and the fight (into the kingship) together.
They had common concerns and shared experience unto God’s ultimate ends.
Many times when you’re in the fight with those who have the word in them, have been fasting, been praying, been believing God like David over a long period of time, what they need to hear is that you are with them.
Being with people of covenant in their time of need is what defines the strength of the relationship.
When people are in the battle, they need prayers, ENCOURAGEMENT (not always instruction) and the support of presence.
This is what Absihai did for David.
The battle is not over just because you forget about it.
Assume the battle is not over until they tell you it is over proclaiming Christ’s manifested victory.
3. PROACTIVE AVAILABILITY
The true mark of Biblical covenant is dependability and availability.
Biblical Covenant is preserved through the Holy Spirit fruit of faithfulness.
Abishai was continually looking for an opportunity to be involved, not waiting for one to be dumped into his lap.
So when the call to go into Saul’s camp came, Abishai was dependable, ready to be involved because Abishai remained close enough to David to hear the call and respond to it.
David experienced the strength of covenant loyalty because Abishai was ready to be a SUPPORT AND BE ON MISSION.
And in that loyalty, Abishai said, “I’m going to fight with you, fight for you, stand with you and when I am able, be with you.”
By availability, covenant relationships also help us go into the enemy’s camp to take out that which is threatening our walks with God.
For some of you during this time, it can be as straight forward as needing accountability with the things you are watching, which can be a pollutant your soul.
Abishai was willing to go with David to the camp of Saul to do this.
Yet when they got there, Abishai was ready to put Saul to death.
*How often do people set themselves in resistance against some evil, fail to acknowledge God’s ways, and end up becoming the very thing they were deposing?
David refused to fall into this trap.
And David said, “As the Lord lives, the Lord will strike him, or his day will come to die, or he will go down into battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should put out my hand against the Lord's anointed. But take now the spear that is at his head and the jar of water, and let us go.”
Our covenant relationships continually remind us that our God is holy, does things differently and makes men holy.
He teaches his people to walk in the opposite spirit than the evil we see in the world and look to God for enduring deliverance.
Hope for Broken Relationships
Through Jesus, there is always hope for broken relationships.
I Samuel 26:17-21
Saul recognized David's voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” And he said, “Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands? Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering, but if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in the heritage of the Lord , saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.” Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.”
The source of broken relationships is stubborn pride where people don’t own up to their faults.
Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.”
Admitting I am wrong and asking for forgiveness is powerful.
This is the definition of confession.
It is the precursor to repentance.
Repentance is the bridge to restored relationship with God and people.
It takes humility.
It needs to be a practice, not a one time event.
Saul had one last moment where he could have made things right.
By standing firmly in this place of repentance, Saul could have provided some sort of healing for David, and ultimately saved his own life.
Unfortunately, Saul continued in his sin until his death.
This does not have to be your story. There is hope for your broken relationships.
What fractured covenant has damaged your life and is eating you alive?
Who do you need to contact and make peace with today?
Restoration Through Christ
God calls us into restorative relationships through Christ
I Samuel 26:22-25
And David answered and said, “Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and take it. The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord's anointed. Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.” Then Saul said to David, “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will succeed in them.” So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place.
We’ve all fallen short at some point and have done damage to the most important relationships in our lives.
We’ve all broken faith with God and should be disposed of because of our sin.
Yet like David in Saul’s camp, Jesus comes into our lives to deal with what is killing us.
Though we deserved death, Jesus walked in the opposite spirit and came to give us life.
Jesus lived perfectly, spoke wisely and healed graciously.
Just as David spared Saul on the hill of Hachilah, Jesus went to the cross at Calvary to take the punishment for our sins.
Because he was sinless, God the Father raised Jesus from the dead and through our repentance, gives us another chance to do the right thing.
And now, Jesus models perfect covenant for us.
As we follow him, Jesus gives us his time inexhaustibly, he’s aware of our every need and fights for us continuously.
But how do we walk in this covenant strength of God?
1 John 1:5-2:2
This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
Jesus is loyal to us, even in our shortcomings and failures.
He calls us to treat one another in the same way.
When we are found in Jesus, our identity and place in the world are eternally secure.
Let’s give our loyalty to the king whom we can ultimately trust with our days and live in true covenant with the people who call continually upon his name.
Second City Church - Covenant, Pastor Rollan Fisher 2020