HCC Monthly Harvest Seed
Psalm 25:12-14 - Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit the earth.
The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.
The Bible is a book of covenants. Understanding the Bible and all we have as Christians concerning God’s love, forgiveness and promises requires us to have an understanding of covenant agreements.
Covenant is so crucial in Christianity that it affects everybody and everything we hold true about our faith and future. You would have never been saved without covenant. Similarly, you have no claims to blessings without covenant. You would still be dead in your sin, and bound by Satan had it not been for covenant.
The notion of a covenant is unfamiliar today. As a matter of fact, when you bring up the word covenant most people do not realize that their Bible is actually divided into two Covenants. The word “Testament” is another word used for Covenant. The Bible is divided into the Old and New Covenant; actually so is all of history. This is why we have B.C. and A.D. All of world history spiritually is literally divided between life before Christ and life after Christ made a New Covenant Possible with God through His death and resurrection. A Covenant – is an agreement or a pledge between two or more parties, like a contract. It is a formal and legal agreement that effectively binds or joins people together. It contains the terms or duties that each party must perform to fulfill the agreement. A covenant can never be forced or coerced, it is entered into voluntarily. It is a mutual relationship.
Covenant is a special spiritual agreement in a class of itself with physical and spiritual implications. This means that keeping it will bring incredible blessing and breaking it will bring deep consequences.
Covenant is God’s natural initiative and response to human wellbeing, needs, problems, and predicaments. It is based solely on God’s love but according to His grace and wisdom, and includes His mercies, compassion, favor, blessings and justice.
The ultimate example of covenant relationship is that of Christian marriage. Ephesians 5:30-32 - For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Make no mistake, Christian marriage is never a CONTRACT, it is more than that. It is a covenant. Obviously many now enter into marriage as a contract because they want so-called security upon divorce so that they can share properties.
– As a Covenant, true Christian marriage is founded on a solid foundation of a lifetime commitment to begin with. And that’s why God categorically states, “I hate divorce”. Divorce means that somebody lied and could not be trusted. Covenant is made now and is not only a promise to do something now but to keep doing it in the future. It is not kept based on emotion, but on our word and our commitment. There is a reason that both the Old and New Covenant are known as the Word of God.
Luke 21:33- Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
Something powerful happens in the lives of believers who know their covenant. They stop wishing and start hoping, they come to God boldly, and they walk by faith trusting God because they know that they are loved. They stop living powerlessly enslaved to sinful habits but are free from the vices that squeeze the life out of others. They know that they are loved and they know who they are because it is all clearly spelled out.
The New Covenant is the source of unshakable faith. It is through the covenant that we know God will fulfill His promises. So if we are unaware of our covenant we have no real understanding that enables us to walk in faith and by faith. As Christians we are able to walk by faith because we have a Savior who became the mediator of a better covenant between us and God.
I look forward to what God is doing in all of our lives. We are in a special season here at HCC. Let’s continue to press forward as we receive all that God has for us.
You are Loved!
Pastor Marvin & Dawn