A Lifestyle Covenant - Part 11

“It was not flawless for we find God blaming its inadequacy: ‘Behold the days draw near, saith the Lord, when I will conclude with the House of Israel, and with the House of Judah, a new Covenant, not on the lines  of the Covenant which I made for their fathers, in that day that I grasped them by the hand, to lead them forth out of the land of Egypt. By that Covenant of Mine they did not abide, and I therefore withdrew My favour from them, saith the Lord. For this is the Covenant that I will conclude with the House of Israel after these days, saith the Lord – I will now imprint My Laws upon their understanding; nay, upon their very hearts will I grave them, and I will be to them God, and they shall be to Me My People. And of a surety they shall no more school each man his fellow-citizen, each man his brother, saying, “Acquaint thyself with the Lord”; for all shall know Me, from the lowly One among them to the great One among them. For compassionate will I to their wrong-doings and their errors will I surely not remember any more.’” Heb.8_8-12. The Letters of ST Paul by A. S. WAY.

Beloved,

As I put pen to paper, I pray that the Spirit of the living God will help me to draw from the fountain of life. By the operation of the Spirit, may the anointing upon my life be fresh and strong so that I can speak to the purpose and plan of God in the live of His people; may the word make deep and lasting impression upon all that will read this letter- (by whatever means; electronic or hard copy). Above all may the heart and ear of all be circumcised to hear the voice of the Lord from this ink and paper and every thought pattern and belief system contrary to the purpose of God and His covenant for you be arrested, defeated and destroyed in Jesus name. Amen.

This will be my first letter to you this year. This is not intentional and never my desire. I have attempted several times to write but could not carry it through due to some challenges. As many of you who are familiar with me know that this is the thrust of my calling, you can imagine what that means to me and the call of God upon my life. But thanks, praise, honour and all glory be to our wonderful Father who has given us the victory and always leads us in triumph in Christ. Amen.

Beloved, I bring you a message from the bosom of your heavenly Father that will boost your confidence, enhance your persuasion and adorn you with full assurance in the promises of God – covenant promises. Realise that true assurance lies in no place other than the blood-sealed and oath-bound promises of God. Friend, where shall confidence or assurance be found?  The depth says, it is not in me and the sea says, it is not with me. Destruction and death say, we have heard the fame thereof with our ears. But where then can we find the precious treasure of assurance and the grace of full persuasion? To seek for it elsewhere other than God is to program yourself for great disappointment. I trust from now on you will not be disappointed or ashamed or hasten away in sudden panic, for your confidence will be in the God of the covenant. For God has laid in Zion a firm foundation in His blood for the hope of His people. Hear this; “And so the Lord says’ I’m laying a firm foundation for the city of Zion. It’s a valuable cornerstone proved to be trustworthy; no one who trusts it will ever be disappointed.” Isa.28₁₆ CEV. Note in Zec.9_11-12. (NABRE version) that the hope that is engineered by the blood of His covenant is indefeasible! “As for you by the blood of your covenant, I have freed …”

Friend, nothing merits your full confidence child of God, except the word of God and nothing is more persuasive than the word of the covenant. I will explain to you why. Let’s begin with some definitions. Webster defined ‘confidence’ as: ‘A trusting or reliance; an assurance of mind or firm believe in the integrity, stability or veracity of another or in the truth and reality of a fact.’ Ps118₈. It could also mean that, ‘That in which confidence is placed; ground of trust; he or that which supports.’ Jer.48₁₃, Pr.3₂₆. Or ‘Safety, or assurance of safety; security.’ Ez.28₂₆. Or, ‘Boldness; courage.’

And ‘assurance’ as: ‘The act of assuring, or of making a declaration in terms that furnish ground of confidence; as, I trusted to his assurances; or the act of furnishing any ground of full confidence.’ Acts17₃₁. Or ‘Firm persuasion; full confidence or trust; freedom from doubt; certain expectation; the utmost certainty.’ Hebrews 10:22. Or ‘Firmness of mind; undoubting steadiness; intrepidity.’ Or ‘Excess of boldness; impudence; as, his assurance is intolerable.’ Or ‘Freedom from excessive modesty, timidity or bashfulness; laudable confidence.’ Or ‘Conviction’ Or ‘In theology, full confidence of one’s interest in Christ and of final salvation.’

In summary, putting the two together we can say, ‘It is a determination to hold on to what you believe in the face of the strongest opposition and forceful contradiction. I mean to hold on to what you believe against all odds and contradictions until hope turns to sight and faith turns to possession. It is therefore an inflexibility, rigidity and fixity of purpose that will not cave in or give in to any opposition. This characteristic of confidence or assurance is necessary to turn the promises of God to performance. Remember the Scripture, “Do not, therefore, fling away your fearless confidence, for it carries a great and glorious compensation of reward. For you have need of steadfast patience and endurance, so that you may perform and fully accomplish the will of God, and thus receive and carry away [and enjoy to the full] what is promised.” Heb.10_35-36. AMPC.

Ladies and gentlemen, there is the place of certainty – a place of assurance in our covenant walk. I mean a place of full persuasion like Abraham where you believe without any modicum of doubt and concede no ground to fear – you know that you know that you know! Hallelujah! See Ge.15_1-18 & Ro.4_16-22. Nothing really in this world is sure except the Covenant, the sure mercies of David - the blessings of the covenant of grace which God graciously conferred on David and his seed for ever and guaranteed to us as the seed of David-the Christ. Listen to this, “Listen closely, and come even closer. My words will give life, for I will make a covenant with you that cannot be broken, a promise of My enduring presence and support like I gave to David.” Isa.55₃. The Voice. The AMPC version puts it this way, “Incline your ear [submit and consent to the divine will] and come to Me; hear, and your soul will revive; and I will make an everlasting covenant or league with you, even the sure mercy (kindness, goodwill, and compassion) promised to David.” This is the same Scripture the Spirit spoke through Apostle Paul in Acts13_33-34 saying, “This He has completely fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second psalm, You are My Son; today I have begotten You [caused You to arise, to be born; formally shown You to be the Messiah by the resurrection]. And as to His having raised Him from among the dead, now no more to return to [undergo putrefaction and dissolution [of the grave], He spoke in this way, I will fulfil and give to you the holy and sure mercy and blessings [that were promised and assured] to David.” Please read this Scriptures with Ps89_3-4,_24,28,34-36. A study of these passages will show you that this blessing is a product of the covenant and that the most striking feature is the security, the firmness of purpose and immutability of the divine covenant. It is the certainty of fulfilment arising from the promise and the oath of God! What a promise!

Friend, David reflected upon this note of certainty at the close of his career, his resort for consolation and assurance was nothing else than the covenant of his God. Hear him, “Is not my house firm before God? He has made an eternal covenant with me, set forth in detail and secured. Will he not bring to fruition all my salvation and my every desire?” NABRE Or the AMPC version, “Truly does not my house stand so with God? For He has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure. For will He not cause to prosper all my help and my desire?” In other words, friend, the surest way and the shortest route to bring your desire and salvation to reality is the covenant. No more disappointment or failure for you!

Those are the words of a man who lived by the covenant and experienced the reality of the covenant. No example of the assurance and confidence guaranteed by the covenant in the Old Testament that more clearly support this thesis than the testimony of David above. It demonstrates that a covenant is sovereign promise by the sanctity of an oath, immutable in its security and divinely confirmed as respects the certainty of its fulfilment and so merits all our trust and confidence. Hallelujah!

Were the covenant to fail in bringing about the desires of His people or end up in disappointment, then we would question the veracity of God, His honour, His power, His grace, His covenant and His oath. Friend banish those unbelieving fears which so dishonour God. But let the eternal life within you express itself in confident rejoicing. Remember, the faithful God, laid the foundation of your hope in oaths, and promise and blood. Our confidence and assurance are not based on anything flimsy and transitory but founded on the blood – something that is immutable, unchangeable and inviolable. It is done in blood - the blood of God and as long as immortality endures the covenant must stand. See Isa.28₁₆ & 1Pet.1_18-19.

Moreover, when we examine the Spirit’s comment through Apostle Paul in Gal.3_15&17, we can see that the covenant is the only foundation that can support or bear our confidence and assurance. The emphasis here is upon the immutability, security and inviolability of a covenant. Read with me, “To speak in terms of human relations, brethren, [if] even a man makes a last will and testament (a merely human covenant), no one sets it aside or makes it void or adds to it when once it has been drawn up and signed (ratified, confirmed).

This is my argument: The Law, which began 430 years after the covenant [concerning the coming Messiah], does not and cannot annul the covenant previously established (ratified) by God, so as to abolish the promise and make it void.” The governing thought which is inescapable is this, that a human covenant is irrevocable once it has been confirmed. It is that same inviolability which characterizes Abrahamic covenant and therefore also the promise which the covenant embraced. Here therefore beloved, without question, a covenant appears as a promise and dispensation of grace, divinely established, and fulfilled, inviolable in its provisions and of permanent validity and thus merits our confidence and full assurance.

We must also be mindful of this that in all covenant disclosure, it is the certitude and immutability of God’s grace that is thrust into prominence. Notice in Isa.54_9-10,  “For this is like the days of Noah to Me; as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you. For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.” AMPC. See also Isa.59₂₁. This passage shows that the post diluvian Noahic covenant provides the pattern or template of what is involved in God’s covenant of peace with His people – namely, that it is an oath-bound and oath-certified assurance of irrevocable grace and promise. See also Heb.6_16-20. It is my pleasure to commend to all that which cannot fail or disappoint, Isa.28₁₆ & Rom.5₅ and which is able to bring your desires and your hopes to fruition. Amen. See 2Sam.23₅.

Now in our last letter we examined some basic problems why the first covenant people failed using Num.13 & 14 and Ps78 & 106 to highlight the reason why they did. Our attention will be focused in this letter on the exposition of the ‘covenant formula’ – ‘I will be their God and they shall be my people.’ You would have noticed this oft-repeated statement whenever God renews or makes a covenant with His people. Take for instance the following passages - right from Gen.17_7-8, through Ex.6₇, Le.26₁₂, Je.24₇, & 31_31-34, especially the bright-eyed prophet Ezekiel, he who could live among the wheels and the seraphim telling us what the covenant of grace is; Ez.11₂₀, 14₁₁, 36_25-28, 37_26-27, up to the New Testament - 2Cor.6₁₆, Heb.8_8-12 and finally in Re.21₃. It is a statement that occurred from Genesis to Revelation. The frequency of its occurrence underscores its importance as far as God is concerned. Let’s look closely into this covenant promise as we pray for God to open this mystery to us. We shall look at the various parts of the blessings from this covenant formula:

1) “I will put my law in their inward parts and they shall know Me.” The first privilege of it is that as many as are interested in it shall be given an illumination of the eyes. Putting the laws in the inward parts and write it in their hearts suggest the idea of the disposition, love, will and the life. Now, nothing can be put in the inward parts of the heart without entering, taking possession of it, securing its affection and controlling its whole being. This is what God undertakes to do in the power of His divine life and operation. He breathes the very spirit of His law into and through the whole inward being. Many of you can testify to this in your own personal experience because it resonates with you. By nature, we are dark towards God’s will. It is a monument of God’s will but its often hardly legible. Isa.29_11-12. A man does not care to read it – he is averse to what he reads there. Rom.8₇. “There foolish heart was darkened.” Rom.1₂₁ and “Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:” Eph.4₁₈. All these are the expression of the Scripture about the heart of man. Now the Holy Spirit is promised to those interested in the covenant. He will come upon their minds and shed light instead of darkness, illuminating them as to what the will of God is. What a privilege! 

We understand that the ungodly man has some degree of light, but it is merely intellectual and sterile light. See Lk11_33-36. It is a light that he does not love. He loves darkness rather than light because his deeds are evil. Jn3_19-20. The Holy Spirit floods the heart with a divine lustre in which the soul delights and desire to participate to the fullest degree. The renewed man, the man under the covenant of grace does not need constantly to resort to his Bible to learn what he ought to go to some fellow Christians to ask instructions. To him, the law of God is not written on a tablet of stone or upon parchment or upon paper- the law is written upon his on mind. There is now a divine, infallible Spirit dwelling within him which tells him the right and the wrong – and by this he speedily discerns between the good and the evil. He no longer puts darkness for light and light for darkness, bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! His mind is enlightened as to the true holiness and the true purity which God requires. Thus, God can realize His purpose in creation and have His child of one mind and spirit with Himself, delighting in doing His will. The whole of the covenant blessing centres on this – the heart being made right and equipped to know God. “And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.” Jer.24₇. Hallelujah!

2) “I will be to them a God or I will be their God.” These words express the highest experience of the covenant relationship. Let me give you this in one of C H Spurgeon’s writings, ‘Now, mark you, where the Spirit of God has come to teach you the divine will and make you love the divine will, God becomes to you—what? A Father? Yes, a loving, tender Father. A shepherd? Yes, a watchful Guardian of His flock. A friend? Yes, a Friend that sticks closer than a brother. A rock? A refuge? A fortress? A high tower? A castle of defence? A home? A heaven? Yes, all that, but when He said “I will be their God,” He said more than all these put together, for, “I will be to them a God,” comprehends all gracious titles, all blessed promises and all divine privileges! It comprehends—yes, now I stop, for this is infinite, and the infinite comprehends all blessings. “I will be to them a God.” Do you need provision? The cattle on a thousand hills are His—it is nothing to Him to give! It will not impoverish Him! He will give to you like a God! Do you need comfort? He is the God of all consolation—He will comfort you like a Lord. Do you need guidance? There is infinite wisdom waiting at your beck and call! Do you need support? There is eternal power, the same which guards the everlasting hills waiting to be your stay! Do you need grace? He delights in mercy and all that mercy is yours! Every attribute of God belongs to His people in covenant with Him. All that God is or can be—and what is there not in that. All the angels have and more! All that heaven is and more! All that is in Christ, even the boundless fullness of the Godhead—all this belongs to you, if you are in covenant with God through Jesus Christ! How rich, how blessed, how august, how noble are those in covenant with God, confederate with heaven! Infinity belongs to you! Lift up your head, O child of God, and rejoice in a promise that I cannot expound, and you cannot explore! There I must leave it—it is a deep which we strive in vain to fathom!’  There is substance here to chew for months!

Now it is only when His people learn to love and obey His law, when their heart and life are wholly devoted to Him and His will, that He can be the inconceivable blessing which these words express, “I will be their God.” All I am and have as God will be yours. I will be to you all you need and wish for in a God. In the fullest meaning of the word, Andrew Murray says, ‘I the Omnipresent will be ever-present with you in all My grace and love. I, the Almighty One, will work in you each moment in you by My mighty power. I, the Thrice Holy One, will reveal My sanctifying life within you. I will be your God.’ Hallelujah!

3) “And you shall be My people.” You will be my people saved and blessed, protected, ruled, guided and provided for by Me. You will be known and see as a people of the Holy One, the God of Glory. Once again, in the words of C H Spurgeon, let’s hear it; ‘All flesh belongs to God in a certain sense. All men are His by rights of creation and He has an infinite sovereignty over them. But He looks down upon the sons of men and He selects some, and He says, ‘These shall be My people, not the rest. These shall be My peculiar people.’ So, mark you, in the great battles and conflicts of this world, when Lord lets loose the dread artillery of heaven, His glance is stern upon His enemies, but the tear is in His eyes towards His people. He is always tender towards them. ‘Spare My people,’ He says, and the angels interpose lest these chosen ones should dash their feet against a stone! People have their treasures, their pearls, their jewels, their rubies, their diamonds—and these are their peculiar stones. Now, all in the covenant of grace are the peculiar stones of God. He values them above all things else! In fact, He keeps the world spinning for them! The world is but a scaffold for the Church. He will send creation packing when once it has done with His saints. Yes, sun, moon and stars shall pass away like worn-out rags when once He has gathered together His own elect and enfolded them forever within the safety of the walls of heaven! For them time moves! For them the world exists! He measures the nation according to their number and He makes the very stars of heaven to fight against their enemies and to defend them against their foes! ‘They shall be to Me a people.’ The favour which is contained in such love it is not for tongue to express. Perhaps on some of those quiet resting places prepared for the saints in heaven, it shall be a part of our eternal enjoyment to contemplate the heights and depths of these golden lines!’

4) “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord, for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord.” Individual personal fellowship with God, from the weakest and the least is guaranteed, to every member of the New Covenant. This is not the knowledge of the mind, which often may hinder fellowship more than help it. It is the knowledge of appropriation and assimilation and which is eternal life. Jn17₃. As the Son knew the Father because He was one with Him and dwelt in Him, the Child of God will receive by the Holy Spirit, that spiritual illumination which will make God the one he knows best. This is because, he loves Him most and lives in Him. Jn6₄₅. God will speak to each one from His word what he needs to know.

5) “For I will forgive their iniquities, and I will remember their sin no more.” It is because of the blood of this New Covenant is of such infinite worth and its Mediator and High Priest is of such divine power, there is promised such a divine blotting out of sin that God cannot remember it no more. The reconciliation and redemption of Jesus Christ brought about without us and for us has removed all obstacle and qualified us for all the blessings of God. In summary, the last-named blessing – the pardon of sin, is the root of all. The remaining blessings are the fruit of it all.

This concludes our series on ‘A lifestyle covenant,’ except if by the prompting of the Spirit directed to add one more on ‘Receiving the blessings of the covenant.’ 

God bless.

Yours in His service

Pastor David Adeyemi

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