THE POWER OF HIS COVENANT

BIBLE TEXT : PSALM 89: 34. “my covenant will I not break nor alter the things that
is gone out of my lips”

PREAMBLE

UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF A COVENANT

Covenant on its own, is an agreement usually formal between two or more persons to do or not to do something specified. A solemn agreement between individuals to act together in harmony with laid down precepts and principles.

In Latin, the word is convenire – to come together, agree etc.

God’s Covenant is an agreement between God and His people in which God makes promises to them and in return, requires certain conduct or commitment to the understanding.

God’s covenant between God and the Jews is the bases of the idea of the Jews as the chosen people. It revolves around God’s promises to Israel and their commitment to worship Him alone.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COVENANT AND A CONTRACT

 A contract most often, is a commercial agreement between persons, while a covenant is a solemn pledge.
 A contract is an agreement you can break or breach, while a covenant is a perpetual promise.
 You seal a covenant while you sign a contract. A seal is stronger than a signature.
 A contract is a mutually beneficial relationship, while a covenant is something you must fulfill.

THERE ARE FIVE MAJOR COVENANT OF GOD IN THE BIBLE

• Noahic Covenant – God promised Noah that He will never again destroy the earth with a flood and He sealed the covenant with a rainbow.

• Abrahamic covenant- God promised Abraham that he would become the ancestor of a great nation, provided Abraham obeyed and went to a place He will show him, and sealed the covenant with circumcision of all the male children

• Mosaic covenant – God promised that the Israelites will get to the promised land but they must obey the Mosaic Law, which is the seal.

• Davidic Covenant – This has several features which includes: David’s lineage would have a king, the covenant included David’s whole dynasty, David’s son is to be adopted as God’s own, the covenant is unlimited in time and space, Jerusalem is the spiritual center of the world (Zion was the holy mountain of God) and the Temple was the sign of the covenant.

• The New Covenant – A relationship between God and humans mediated by Jesus which necessarily includes all people, both Jews and Gentiles, upon sincere declaration that one believes in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. It was sealed with the death of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

POWER OF HIS COVENANT

Our God is a God of covenant. Everything about God is covenant oriented and covenant centered God’s covenant takes place when God decides to pursue a matter to a total completion. When God want to change the cause of a nation, the destiny of a people or a man, He enters into a covenant with him or the people.

God’s covenant is a highlight of His faithfulness to a cause. And His desire to see it to the end.

God’s covenant are His principles, His position as it concerns a matter.

He said concerning his covenant in Psalm 89:35:

“Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David”

That is God deliberately putting Himself in a tight corner before His creature in order to fulfill His positive heart desire towards man.

 

 The power of God’s covenant is in the integrity of His word and promises. He is faithful even when we are faithless. Math. 24: 35. “God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son of man that He should repent. Hath he said it and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken and shall He not make it good”? Num. 23:19. God says what He will do and He will do what He says.

 In Him there are no variableness nor shadow of turning. James 1:17. It is God’s divine assurance to humanity, an avowed desire to fulfill an end.

 It is God’s spoken word that can never come back void without accomplishing what it has been sent out for. Isaiah 55:11.

 

WHEN GOD’S COVENANTS ARE BROKEN

 Relationships are lost – Isaiah 59:1
 Trust is betrayed. – Isaiah 5:1-5
 Curses are released. 2Chron.7:13, Isaiah 1:19-20
 Blessing are withdrawn – Isaiah 1:20
 Protection hitherto provided are deactivated. –
 Death becomes regular –
 People undergo profitless hard work. Leviticus 26:18-20.
 Sicknesses becomes a common feature –
 Major testimonies becomes scarce
 Spiritual power/energy are weakened
 Evil works becomes more rampant – James 3:16
 You begin to operate under closed heaven – Deut. 28: 23.
 People live in uncertainty – confusion of faces. – Daniel 9:7.
 The joy of salvation is withdrawn. – Psalm 51:12
 The gospel becomes easily perverted – Ephesians 4:14-15
 Strange doctrines, heresies, sermons are readily introduced. – Rev 2:21.
 People device new human mechanism to get divine results. 1kings 13-33, Rev2:21
 People leave in search of a platform with an active/ functional covenant covering.
 True worshippers become scarce, compared to pleasure seekers.- 2Tim. 3:4
 Devourers will have a field day. – Haggai 1:1-6
 The enemy is energized and given a legal ground – Zachariah 1:15
 Identity crisis sets in or identity will become confused or lost – Rev. 3:16
 Delayed promises and prophesies becomes the order of the day. Zachariah 1:15

GENERATIONAL CHALLENGES TO THE COVENANT

Overtime, Some of the challenges confronting the adherence to God’s instructions especially with regards to His covenant in this dispensation are as follows:

 

 SPREAD OF KNOWLEDGE

We are living in an era of great knowledge and learning. The amount of packaged of book wisdom in our shelves today is unimaginable. Almost every development be it spiritual or otherwise is subjected to analytical process. We know that knowledge puffs up but love edifies. Most of the derivatives from the covenant with God are viewed today as old school and not conducive for today’s worship.

 INSATIABLE NEEDS OF MAN.

In addition, we are confronted by a “Fault finding generation”, an hyper critical and hyper –sensitive generation. In the book of Mathew 11: 16, Jesus confronted by a fault –finding generation declared:

“but whereunto shall I liken this generation….,
We have piped unto you, you have not danced
We have mourned unto you and you have not lamented
For John came neither eating nor drinking and they said
He had a demon, and the son of man came eating and drinking
And they said behold a gluttonous man and a winebibber ..”.

The present generation of worshippers are almost impossible to please and will always pick holes were there are none.

 FAILURES OF THE FATHERS

In the book of 1samuel 8: 4-5 the elders of Israel came to Samuel and told him

“Behold, thou art old and thy Sons walk not in thy ways
Now make us a king to judge us like other nations

The failures of church leaders in successfully transmitting the right Christian values, tradition and principles to their offspring has led in no little way in the total abandonment of the faith of their fathers. When the life style of the leaders and their children are world apart. It becomes very difficult for the on looking children to emulate or appreciate the tenets of the covenant the fathers have with God.

 LACK OF EVIDENCE

Nothing silences an argument like evidence. Lack of substantial evidential proof of the power behind a covenant, leads to doubt over the effectiveness of the covenant. This becomes more problematic when such evidence is not seen in the life of fathers who are suppose to be custodians or living testimonies of the miracle working power of God.

 THE SPIRIT OF COMPETITION AND UNGODLY COMPARISM

This is the spirit of the age. We are in an era of unnecessary competition for almost everything. When everyone is trying to outdo others. The effect of the media both social media and electronic have hindered greatly the work of God. We are living in a time where majestic worship centers, regular outings on television stations, or even having a TV Station has a way of determining God’s endorsement of a ministry. The present generation want their churches to be talk about in terms of publicity and not necessarily her content.

OTHERS INCLUDE:

• Inability to bear the rules of the church
• Too much focus on career and the get rich syndrome
• Lack of heaven consciousness
• The error of believing that they know more than their fathers
• Wanting to do things their own way regardless of the consequences
• The end time prophesy of many being lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God etc.