IF ANY OF GOD’S PROMISES TO YOU SEEM TO FAIL, CHECK YOURSELF. IF THINGS ARE NOT GOING THROUGH, THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH GOD UP THERE. THE REASON MIGHT BE WITH YOU DOWN HERE.
IT IS CHEAPER TO DO THE WILL OF GOD THAN TO DISOBEY HIM. IT IS MORE BLESSED TO DO HIS WILL.
THE COST OF DISOBEYING GOD IS UNIMAGINABLE. THE BLESSING OF OBEYING GOD IS MIGHTY.
-Pastor E.A Adeboye at the Australia Pacific Virtual Conference themed “The Covenant Keeping God Day 2 Evening Session
Father, Almighty we worship You, Ancient of days we bow before You, the earth is Yours and the fullness, therefore. You are the God of the whole universe. Church Gist. We bless Your Holy Name for Your Children having their convention at this moment.
Please, Lord God Almighty, bless them, support them, minister unto them. Church Gist. During this convention Lord God Almighty, heal the sick, set the captives free, save souls Lord, restore backsliders, meet all the needs of Your children. Church Gist. Let there be miracles, signs, and wonders. Let there be mighty, mighty testimonies.
By the end of this convention my Father and my God, let Your Name be mightily glorified and let the joy of Your children be full in Jesus Mighty Name we have prayed.
Let someone shout Hallelujah.
I might not be able to hear you now but at least God can. Church Gist. And I want to rejoice with you even as you are having your convention. I am praying that one of these days, I might be able to visit you one more time, maybe before Jesus returns, that is 100 per cent in the Hands of the Most High God. In the meantime, God bless you.
I have been asked to speak on the theme of your convention: Covenant Keeping God.
My text would be Deuteronomy 7:9.
What kind of God are we serving? God, the faithful God which keeps covenant and mercy with them that love Him and obey His commandments. Church Gist.
What is a covenant?
In the simplest possible language, a covenant is a contract signed in blood. We all know what a contract is; two people enter into an agreement, you do this, and I will do do that.
You enter into a contract with a builder. Church Gist. He builds the house and you will pay him.
But this time, when we talk about covenant it is not just an ordinary contract, because ordinary contracts can be broken where you can go to court. Church Gist. But because that is a contract, it is signed with ink but a covenant is signed in blood.
Meaning that, you break this covenant, you die.
Because the life of the animal is in the blood, so when you talk of a covenant, you sign it with blood.
You say, well how can we talk of a covenant between God and man, because the two parties must sign. So, are you going to ask God to come down and pour out His Blood?
Well, why don’t we take an example?
In Genesis 15:7-18.
When God was about to enter into a covenant with Abraham. Church Gist. He told Abraham, get me some animals, split them into two, and spread them this side, this side. Let the animals represent Me.
As for you, in Genesis 17:10-14, this is the way you are going to show Me you are signing the covenant. Circumcise every male child, Abraham was almost a hundred years old. Church Gist. You can imagine circumcision at that age. It must have been very painful because that’s a covenant. I am going to enter a covenant with you. You will use some animals to represent Me and you will shed your own blood too.
Another name that is used to represent a covenant is testament.
When a man writes his will, it is called the last testament Of the man. And the implication is, the man is saying “I am about to die”. This is what I want done after I am gone. Church Gist. If anybody work contrary to what I am writing down, that fellow will join me soon.
A covenant is not a joking matter at all.
Now, in the old testament, there were many elements in the covenant between God and His people; many provisions in that testament, in that covenant.
For example, there was a healing covenant.
Exodus 15:26. Church Gist. That sickness won’t come near you at all but that is My own part, your own part is to hearken diligently to my Voice, to observe and do what I command you, period!.
There was a covenant for overflowing blessings.
Deuteronomy 28:1-2.
You hearken diligently to the Voice of the Lord and observe to do; it says blessings will be chasing after you.
It says, your part of the covenant? Obey Me. My own part of the covenant? I will make you super-blessed.
There was an article not too long ago that of the richest people in America, 85 per cent of them are Jews. 85 per cent, covenant of Supernatural abundance.
Included in the covenant, is the covenant of victory.
Deuteronomy 28:7.
You listen to Me, when enemies come in one way, He says, they will flee in seven ways. Church Gist. Why? They will be smitten before you. How comes? Because I will be the one doing the fighting for you. You will get victory without a fight. Do your part, leave the rest to Me.
There was a covenant of security.
Isaiah 54:15-17.
He says, if they gang up against you, they will fall for your sake. Church Gist. He says, all the weapons they want to use, i made them.
I am the One who made wasters to destroy. If you are in My Covenant, no weapons formed against you shall prosper. I won’t let the weapons to function.
Included in the covenant is unstoppable promotion.
Deuteronomy 28:13
I will see to it that you are head only, you won’t be tail. Church Gist. After all, promotion comes from Me, I am the one who decides who is going to rule. He says, you do your part and I will do my part.
In Deuteronomy 7:12-16, you can see in summary of all the things included in the covenant between God and those who will do His Will. When you get home you will see the things He said:
- You keep your own part of the covenant, I will love you. What does that mean? Romans 8:37. Church Gist. You get victory without a fight.
- He says, I will bless you: This has several implications but it means nobody can curse you.
In Numbers 23:8, when one false prophet was hired to come and curse the children of Israel, as he opened his mouth to curse them, blessing was flowing out. Church Gist. Because there is a covenant keeping God behind the scene. As he opened his mouth, blessings began to pour out. - Then He went on to say, if you keep your own side of the covenant, I will multiply you.
Isn’t that amazing? He didn’t say I will add to you, He says I will multiply you.
Deuteronomy 1:11.
Keep your own side of the covenant, you haven’t seen anything yet. Church Gist. You think you are great now? Think of yourself multiplied a thousand times and you will see how amazing that would be. - Then He went further and say, I will bless your children.
I will bless the fruit of your body.
In Genesis 22:15-18, the Almighty God was talking to Abraham after he agreed to sacrifice Isaac, and God stopped him. God said, “I swear, in blessing I will bless you Abraham and I will multiply your seed. When a father is keeping his covenant with God, anywhere his children goes they will find favor.
He said, I will bless your children, He even went further to say, I will bless your animals.
When you are keeping your own side of the bargain, even your own domestic animals enjoy the blessings.
And when you read Genesis 30:27-43, you will see how God will possibly do that. Church Gist. I mean, when Jacob was with Laban, God showed Jacob a dream, ” son, because your father has been keeping my covenant, I want to make you rich”. When the strong animals are pregnant, bring them to the water to drink and lay before them, popular trees that you have already cut off some part of it so that there is white and green, black etc.
And very very soon, the wealth of Laban was practically transferred to Jacob. He said, “I will bless your animals if you keep My covenant”.
- Then He went on to say, I will bless the fruit of your soil.
That means I will bless your harvest. I don’t know if you have ever wondered exactly the full meaning of Genesis 26:12-14. There was famine in the land, everybody was crying famine but then Isaac sowed in the land. The rest were not getting any product but He got a hundred fold returns. Are you surprised how he became so wealthy? - It didn’t stop there, He says, I am going to make you greater than everyone else.
Keep My covenant, you will be above all others.
Genesis 26:16.
The king of the nation where Isaac was sojourning came to Isaac and say to him, ” Sir, you are mightier than us all”. Can you imagine, one fellow? Mightier than a whole nation.
Can you imagine somebody richer than a whole nation?
The king said, “Sir, I think you better move on. We are afraid of you. You can take over this nation if you want to, you are mightier than us. Church Gist. Please go.
I pray for all of you attending this convention, one day in whatever nation you come from, everybody will know you that you are blessed of the Lord. - And then He went further, just to show you thee power that is in the covenant. Church Gist. He said none shall be barren among you.
In the story of the children of Israel, the only woman who died barren was Micah. 2 Samuel 6:20-23.
And she died barren because she mocked David who was praising God. Church Gist. And God said, ” somebody was praising me and you are not doing so, you are now criticizing him? God said,” I don’t think I want more people like you in the world”.
Read the Bible, Sarah as old as she was, at 90 years God still said to her, ” you are not going to die without a child”.
Rebecca? God said, ” there is no way you are going to die without a child”.
Hannah? Elizabeth? Mention them, they all conceived even when the people of the world has lost hope for them, they still became fruitful.
I was telling my children in one of our morning devotions because those of you who are listening to the message now will hear it some weeks to come but I am recording it on a day the issue of covenant came up in the morning devotion. Church Gist. And I told them, ” it is cheaper to do the Will of God than to disobey Him. It’s more blessed to do His Will. The cost of disobeying God is unimaginable. The blessing of obeying Him is mighty.
Now, in the old testament He kept on saying you must do this for Me to fulfil my covenant but in the new testament, Jesus Christ came and shed His precious blood and started what is called, “The New Testament”.
So, in Jesus you can claim all the benefits of the testament.
In 1 Peter 2:24, because He had fulfil His own part of the covenant, you can now say by His stripes, I am healed. Even though He told that alright, I am standing in for you. In John 15: 14 says you only qualify if you do whatever I tell you. Church Gist. You are friends, if and only if you do what I command you.
God is a covenant keeping God. He told Abraham, that your children are going to a foreign land and they will be there for long but at the appropriate time, they will come out.
And He said the reason why that is going to happen is because there is a land I kept for them. In Exodus 3:1-15, when God was speaking to Moses by the backside of the river, God said ” remember my covenant. It’s now time to bring out my people”.
God made a covenant with David as an individual.
2 Samuel 7:8-16.
When David said, “I want to build a house for God”. God looked at him and said, ” thank you. I appreciate what you want to do but sorry, you have fought many battles and your hands are painted with blood. Church Gist. Don’t worry, I will allow your son to build the house but I assure you, your kingdom will be established. There will always be somebody of your lineage sitting on the throne”. - And God now said, in Jeremiah 33:20-21. He said, unless there is no longer day and night, that’s when My covenant with David will be broken. As long as day is still following night, My covenant with David will never be broken, which will help you to understand what happened in Mark 10:46-52. When Jesus was passing by and Blind Bartimaus heard, what did he say? “Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me”. Is there somebody now sitting on the throne of David? Jesus Christ is seated in the Heavens, absolutely in control.
God is a covenant keeping God.
When He makes a promise to you, you can relax because He is reliable.
- That brings me to the conclusion, if any of God’s promises to you seem to fail, check yourself. Church Gist. If things are not going through, there is nothing wrong with Him upstairs.
He said, ” I am the Lord, I change not. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. - If anything is wrong, it is down here with you.
Joshua 1:1-8. God told Joshua, “everywhere the sole of your feet shall tread upon, I have given it to you”. As I was with Moses so I will be with you.
Jordan parted for him, the wall of Jericho fell before him. And then in Joshua 7. And the children of Israel went to fight a very small town called AI and they fled before the enemy. Joshua fell on his face and said, ” God, this is not what you told me”. You said nobody will be able to withstand me. This people have not just withstood me, they pursued my people and killed many of them. And God said, ” yes, I know what I said but there is sin in the camp. I am a Holy God. Unless you remove what is causing my anger.
Achan was the one who caused the trouble. Church Gist. And so, trouble came and then the Almighty God pointed out the trouble maker and then the problem was resolved.
And God now returned in Joshua 8 and even guided Joshua as to how to win the battle and again all the lost glory.
What is that saying to you my beloved children? God is a covenant-keeping God. Church Gist. He will fulfill all His promises.
Take a look at yourself, if things are not working right, the problem is likely to be with you. Look at areas where you are backsliding, look at those things you are doing which you should not be doing.
Don’t believe those who say, once you are born again you can live like the child of a devil.
That is not correct. Church Gist. He was Holy then, He is still Holy now.
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