2016 – OUR YEAR OF SUPERNATURAL PROMOTION – Psalm 75:6-7

FEBRUARY: Our Month of Supernatural Promotion via Covenant 

Psalm 89:34:37 – 34 My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips. 35 Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David: 36 His seed shall endure forever, And his throne as the sun before Me; 37 It shall be established forever like the moon, Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah

Number 23:19 – 19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good.

Ephesians 6:10-17 – 10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

References for Ephesians 6:12

Footnotes

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

As I said in my previous piece, the bible is a covenant book and has two parts; Old Testament and New Testament. The word testament means covenant. So the bible is comprised of old covenant and new covenant. In the old testament God made covenant with Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and the house of Israel to name a few. In the old testament people also made covenant with one another, David and Jonathan, Isaac and Abimelech, to name a few. These practices were passed down the line to the next generations. While some of the practices no longer apply to us, the principles still do. For example I don’t need to kill an animal or drink someone’s blood to enter into covenant with them but I need understand the seriousness and the convictions behind. So I will outline the ancient covenant practice in the bible times and explain it’s relevance to us as God’s covenant people.

1. In ancient civilisations, covenant agreement was entered based on differences and not similarities and strength. That was what Paul meant in Philippians 4:13 when he said ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’.  Also in 2 Corinthians 12:9 -10 – And He said , “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

In other words you are as strong and capable as God because of your covenant with Him though Christ.

2. Lengthy discussions were made in order to produce agreement and harmony. During these negotiations, the two families agreed to each party’s responsibility in the union. They agreed upon a blessing for keeping the terms as well as a curse for breaking them. The fear of the curse and the desire to benefit from the blessing kept the parties in line. This is what is meant by the scripture in Isaiah 1:19-20 – “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword”; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. And in Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

The word dine or sup in other bible versions implies long conversation over dinner. This is why regular fellowship with God our father and fellow Christians are covenant relationship strengthens. While in the Old testament blessings and curses were attached because of unreliability of mankind, in the new testament no curse is attached to our covenant in with God in Christ because the covenant is between God and Christ Jesus and Jesus took all the curse that could ever come to us through the breaking of the covenant. that is why it is only through and in Christ that we have covenant with God . and through his blood we have remission and forgiveness of sins. Galatians 3:13 says it this way, Christ has redeemed us form the curse of the law.

3. The next thing is each family choose a representative who has the very character of the family. If the family are strong warriors, the representative would be the greatest and most highly skilled warrior of them all. The representative was always someone with whom the whole family could identify. He was also some with whom outsiders identified the family. In our covenant with God, Jesus is our representative and the phrases in epistles’ in Christ’,’ in, him’, ‘in whom’  ‘through Christ’  are statements of identification with him. As born again believers we have taken on his nature and character. This is why we are identified as Christians (little Christ).

4. A covenant site chosen, it is the place where all the family members could gather around and watch the covenant rite take place. Example is in Deuteronomy 11:26,29, when God made covenant with Israel. All though the Old Testament you will note that memorials and monument are made at the places where people make Covenant. In old testament Israel congregated around the ark of covenant. In the New Testament we congregate around Christ. That is why the bible says where two or three are gathered in my name there I will be in the midst of them. The bible instruct us not to forsake the assembling together of ourselves. This does not mean you cannot have a time of personal fellowship with God yourself. I am only putting the ancient covenant practice in the context of scripture.

5. After the site is chosen, the sacrificial animals were selected. They were most often large animals that would have great deal of blood when slaughtered… the animals were cut from the back of the neck down the backbone. The two halves fell to the ground, lying opposite each other. The blood spilled on the ground between the two halves and the alley between them was customarily called the way of the blood. This is demonstrated in Genesis 15 when God made covenant with Abraham. In the new testament Jesus is both our representative and out sacrificial lamb. John the Baptist was making covenant statement when he said ‘behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the work’. Jesus confirmed it when he said this is my blood of the new covenant Matthew 26:28..

Questions for you to reflect on

• Are you aware of your covenant with God through Christ?
• Why was covenant entered into?

Number 23:19 – 19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good.

Personal Daily Declaration

I have a covenant of life, peace, prosperity and blessing with God therefore I will experience life, peace, prosperity and blessing has God Has it. This month I will reinforce my faith in the integrity of God’s word though my understanding of covenant and I will build my integrity and character as well. I will be a divine representative of God covenant integrity.