Our Covenant of Faith, Part 5

Our Covenant of Faith, Part 5

All of the things that were dealt with in the sacrifice of Jesus are valid for the believer today.  Everything that was dealt with in this sacrifice still must be received by faith.  Even though they belong to you, you still have to receive them by your faith.

You find in the book of the Prophet Isaiah, chapters 52-55, the promise of the Father about the sacrifice as he placed Jesus on the cross for us, He placed on Jesus everything that had come on mankind since the fall in Genesis.  In Isaiah 53:11, God said that Jesus would bare all our iniquities and our guilt (with the consequences).  All through Isaiah 54 and the first verse of 55, He speaks of His righteousness and restoration back to Him.  In Isaiah 55:1 He declares that these things are ours by the “acceptance of the blessing”.  The only way to accept the blessing is by our faith.  Later in the same chapter (Isaiah 55:8-11), He says that His ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, but His word would not return unto Him void.  This is why we were to renew our minds (Romans 12:2), since we now have the mind of Christ (I Cor 2:16).

By understanding the sacrifice by faith, we have access to all the sacrifice covered.  In I Cor 1:3-7, Paul was speaking to the church in Corinth.  In verse 7, he prayed that we (the church) would not fall behind or lack in any spiritual endowment or Christian grace.

By what Paul was saying here, there must be a chance that we don’t understand and therefore not receive all that grace has given us as a free gift.  When you read in Romans 5:15-17, we find that in verse 15, God’s grace is out of all proportion to what sin has subjected us to.  Verse 17 Amp: God’s overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and His free gift of righteousness (putting us into right standing with Himself), we can reign as kings in life through Jesus, the Messiah.

In Ephesians 3:9-12, we find that in verse 10, God wants the church to be the revealed things of the wisdom of God.  Verse 12: we (by faith) have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear).

As we go on into the revelation the Apostle had about Jesus and us in Jesus, we find something that without faith, you could not even begin to conceive in your own mind.  Ephesians 3:16-20 makes your Spirit leap in expectation.  As you read verse 19, that we can now become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself.

All of the great things that we were given by grace must be received by faith.  They already belong to us, but will not be appropriated in our lives here without faith to receive them.  In the garden, when love prayed, grace answered.  Faith says, “thank you, Father.  I receive what you gave and blessed me with in your son”.

I have determined in, my life to walk in as much of the love of the Father’s sacrifice as I can and raise my faith to a level to receive.  I don’t want to count out anything He died to give me as not important in my life here as well as my life later.  I won’t need Isaiah 53 in heaven, there is no sickness there.  I won’t need the power of His name over demons, there won’t be any.  Once I am in the fullness of heaven, the fight of faith will be over and I will never again be faced with the doubt and trials of the enemy.  BUT, while I am still here, I will put my faith in the fact that the power of His blood will work by faith here.  Psalm 91 is a Psalm for here (this is the valley of the shadow of death) and even here He has spread a table of covenant where the child of God can rest in His grace by faith.  I don’t want to be as those in Heb 4 Amp: there where those that didn’t put faith in the rest (grace) and didn’t enter in.  Verse 5 says that the word was preached to them but they didn’t mix faith with what they heard.   Verses 9-10 declares there is still this rest (grace) being offered today, but it still takes faith to receive it.

Our Covenant of Faith, Part 4

Our Covenant of Faith, Part 4

            We have so long been taught that what Jesus did for us was only for the hereafter.  Very few people have taken what He did in His resurrection and applied it in our everyday life.  We have worked at being food to people and trying to keep our own lives in line with the things of God.  Mostly we stopped doing the things we used to so before we were saved, but never pursued the things we can do now that we are saved.  For some reason, we have never allowed the power of Jesus’ victory to also become our victory.  A lot of people read the Bible and for some reason, see themselves as victims of the devil instead of VICTORS over the devil.  It is true that the devil is still here and that he is still trying to force his will on all of mankind, but for those in Christ Jesus, His victory is our victory as well.

            When I speak of a covenant of faith, it goes much further than going to heaven when we die.  In the John 17:18-23, Jesus prayed that as you sent me into the world, I also send them into the world.  Vs 17 and Vs 20, He said He wasn’t praying just for His disciples, but for all of us who have believed through the things that they preached.  If we were sent as He was sent, then once the power of sin is broken off from us and righteousness has been restored through Jesus, then everything that He was to do for mankind has now become the ministry of all who believe.  Jesus said in John 17:22 that the glory and honor the Father gave Him, He has given that same glory and honor to us.

            Church, we need to expand our faith in the finished works of Jesus to include what God’s grace has provided for us, not only for us, but for us to take to the entire world.  God told Paul in II Cor 12:9 that His grace was sufficient for his ministry. That same grace is enough for us as well.  When we are weak, His strength is made perfect.  Who is there among us that have not run into weakness in our own lives?  The thing is, when we run into these areas of weakness, we should not let the weakness win out, but put faith into the grace to lift us above the weakness and into the victory.  We have spent much time talking about the thing that we are not to do; we forget what we are called to do.

             Everything we need to complete the things laid out before us has been granted by God’s grace.  The thing about grace is that it takes faith to access it.

            In I Cor 12, we read about the gifts of the Spirit.  Most of us disqualified ourselves almost instantly because we thought we didn’t measure up.  What we didn’t see was that these gifts are not for the church to consume themselves, but for the church to use these gifts to set the captives free.  The gift of healing is not for the well man (that by faith believes that by HIS stripes I am healed), but for the sick people that the enemy has still held in captivity.  These gifts (when used and received by faith in Jesus according to what we read in John 17) are weapons of God against the enemy to loose the bonds of captivity and set at liberty those that are bound.  These gifts are given by the Holy Spirit to those (who by faith) will use them to break the hold of the enemy over people’s lives.  Isn’t that what Jesus was anointed to do?  In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus proclaimed what His ministry was and what His anointing was to accomplish.  In the Gospel according to Matthew (28:17-20), Jesus declared that all power has been given Him both in Heaven and on Earth.  We were to go now in the power of His name.  In Acts 3:16, Peter made the statement about the miracle at the Gates of the Temple that the name of Jesus – and by faith in that name – had made the man whole.  Could it be that we have not used the faith in His name by understanding that grace has called us by and into that name?

            For some people down through the years, we have seen power in their lives, but they were more of the minority than the majority.  I think that there are still some “too far people” out there that will expand their faith in grace, not only for themselves, but for the world to know Jesus.

Our Covenant of Faith, Part 3

Our Covenant of Faith, Part 3

            When I speak of a covenant of faith, I’m not speaking of some abstract way of religion.  Everything in our New Covenant is based on our faith in the fact that Jesus provided everything needed to return us to our Father in the way our Father intended us to be at the very beginning.  In Romans 3:25-27 Amp, “when God put Jesus before the eyes of all” as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood (the cleansing and life giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation to be received through faith).  This was to show God’s righteousness because in His divine forbearance he had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment.  Vs26 says it was to demonstrate and prove at the present time (in the new season) that He Himself is righteous as that He justifies and accepts as righteous he who has true faith in Jesus.  It goes on to say in Vs27 that our works to obtain righteousness without faith in Jesus would be boasting and only on the principle of faith are we accepted.

            Romans 1:17 Amp states that by faith for salvation (Romans 10:8-10) will bring us into a place that our faith will go on to more perfect faith.  It is stated this way because in the Gospel, a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith (disclosing the way of faith that arouses more faith).  It is written that the man who, through faith, is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith (Hab 2:4).

            Because of our faith in Jesus, we have been accepted by God completely by faith in His finished work.  Romans 5:1-2 Amp, therefore, since we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous and given a right standing with God) through faith (let us grasp the fact that) we have the peace of reconciliation to hold and enjoy peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (the Messiah, the anointed one).  Vs2, through Him also we have our access (entrance, introduction) by faith into His grace (state of God’s favor) in which we (firmly and safely) stand.  And let us rejoice and exalt in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the Glory of God.  

            According to these scriptures, our faith in Jesus (as it grows: Romans 1:17) will bring us to a place of experiencing and enjoying the very Glory of God here in this life, by faith. 

We sometimes put off almost everything in our covenant “until we get to heaven”.  According to the scriptures, we can walk in a whole new realm of the favor and blessing of our Father right now.  It is ALL obtained by faith in what Jesus has done.  Romans 8:1-4 Amp opens a whole new way of life.  “We have (in Jesus) a new covenant that is called the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.  This new covenant has set me free (by faith) from the law of sin and death.  Vs4 Amp, sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, (God) condemned sin in the flesh (He became sin with my sin, that I would be made the righteousness of God in Him).  IICor 5:17-21 Amp, subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who will accept that sacrifice (by faith).  In Lev 7:37 Amp, you find a very interesting fact about the sacrifice.  The sacrifice that God spoke of accepting in Romans 8:4 is the one that in Lev 7:37 covers all the other sacrifices.

We sometimes want to believe that we still lack something to be pleasing unto God, but the truth is that Jesus did everything needed to present us to the Father “without spot or blemish”.

I hear teachings about how to obtain favor with God.  By faith in the sacrifice of Jesus, I have favor.  Now it’s not about God granting me a favor, but about me having faith in the favor He gave me through Jesus and to walk in it.  It’s not about whether or not I walk in guilt and condemnation, but through the sacrifice of Jesus (by faith) I walk above it.  You see, it’s not about me having to do anything to obtain it.  My part is to ACCEPT BY FAITH what Jesus has done.  HE, being the perfect sacrifice, left no more sacrifice to be offered up.  The sin offering, the trespass offering, the consecration offering, the burnt offering, the cereal offering, the peace offer – all of these things the law demanded of us were met in one offering (by faith) in Jesus.

Read ICor 2:1-16, especially Vs7, we are setting forth a wisdom of God once hidden (from the human understanding) and now revealed to us by God (that wisdom) which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification (to lift us into the glory of His presence).

Our Covenant of Faith, Part 2

Our Covenant of Faith, Part 2

            In Hebrews 11:6, without faith, it is impossible to please God.  To try and come unto God by any other means that faith in Jesus would be to try and reach your own way to Him by works.  Works have never been the way to reach Him.  Romans 3:20-21, the righteousness of God by believing and reliance on Jesus “by faith”.  Romans 3:23-24, since all have sinned and fallen short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives.  Vs24, all are justified and made upright and in right standing with God through faith in what Jesus has done.

            Many Christians still are condemned over their past life instead of walking out from under condemnation by the blood.  It seems that our faith in the ability to take it all away doesn’t seem to work in this area.  Hebrews 10:16-23, vs18 Amp, absolute remission (forgiveness, cancellation of the penalty of sin), vs22 Amp, be able to not be afraid of rejection by God but draw near with “unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith”.  Sometimes we think of conviction only when it comes to sin, but here it speaks on being convicted of righteousness and acceptance. 

            When I speak of our covenant of faith, I speak of everything our covenant has promised and provided.  According to the words of our covenant, everything that could ever plague God’s people was under the blood of our sacrificial Lamb.  Jesus prayed just hours before going to the cross in John 17:14-26 that His sacrifice would restore us back to that, but would actually put us in the same relationship with the father that He had.

            We find part of our covenant in Luke 4:18-21.  This statement was part of our New Covenant, but you have to receive it by faith in Him.  I wonder, do we believe this part of what He said or do we put it off until heaven?  Vs 19 Amp, “to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound)”.

            We find in Matthew 8:17 Amp, thus He fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, He Himself took (in order to carry away) our weaknesses and infirmities and bore away our diseases.  This, too, is part of our faith covenant that must be received only by faith.  We are still trying to be healed instead of putting our faith in the Lamb that has already provided it.  We find in Romans 3:26-27 that the only way to become righteous is not by works, good deeds or any works if the flesh, but by faith in our sacrifice.  Justification can only come by faith.  In this same scripture, vs26 Amp, “He justifies and accepts as righteous he who has faith in Jesus.

            We find in Romans 12:1-3 that we are not to be conformed to the world’s way of thinking, but to renew our minds by what our sacrifice has done for us.  Vs 3 Amp, Paul warns not to think of ourselves more highly than we should.  We seem to always think of pride as something that exalts one’s self, by lording over others by our high standards.  Did we ever think that by excluding ourselves by making statements such as, “I know Jesus died for our sins, but you don’t know what I have done”, that this is a sense of pride that is saying to God, “thanks for Jesus, but that wasn’t enough to cleanse me”?  That is thinking pretty highly of yourself, don’t you think?

            Did you ever think that you weren’t good enough or that you don’t deserve to be healed or blessed?  That is also thinking more highly of yourself than it is the strength of the sacrifice.  According to the book of Isaiah 53:1-12, it was for you and me that He did what He did.  Did we deserve to be healed and set free?  NO!  But by HIS GRACE, we were and by FAITH in that sacrifice we should reach out to believe as we said in Romans 1:17, going from saving grace by faith to the sacrifice which provided my healing, redemption, justification, deliverance, cleansing of my conscience from sin, righteousness and acceptance into the presence of my Father!

OUR COVENANT OF FAITH, PART 1

Our Covenant of Faith

Under the old covenant, whenever the people made sacrifice, they put their faith in the sacrifice to cover them at the time.  Under the Levitical Priesthood, they had many different sacrifices for many different things.  Under the Levitical Priesthood, when an offering was made and accepted, the person or persons would be cleansed of whatever the sin or trespass had been.  Each time the sacrifice was made, the person was cleansed until the next time he did something wrong.  If you had faith in the sacrifice, you could walk away and be accepted by the Lord as covered by the life (“the life is in the blood’, Lev 17:11-14 Amp) of the sacrifice.  There were laws for trespasses, laws for sin, laws for purification, etc.  Each time a different sacrifice was made for a different transgression.  By placing your faith in what God had declared for sacrifice, you could still walk free of the curse that would come by transgressing the law.  Always, you must have faith in what you did in the sacrifice.  They put their faith in the law, but always there was another sacrifice to be made because the blood of bulls and goats could not take away the sin (Hebrews 10:3-4).  Even the High Priest had to offer a sacrifice for himself before he could enter into the presence of God (Heb 7:27).  Each day, there was a daily sacrifice made for the High Priest and then for the people.

Each person had to have a sacrifice for his personal trespass and the High Priest had to have even for himself.  In the book of Job, you will find that Job was always offering sacrifice for his sons and daughters for fear of them doing something wrong against God (Job 1:4-5), thus did Job at all such times.  Job never had faith in the blood of the sacrifice he had just made, and so he kept making them (Job 3:25-26), “I was not or am not at ease, nor had I or have I rest”.  Without the faith in what he was doing, he negated the power of his sacrifice and had no peace in it.

We have a covenant with God that is totally based on our faith in the sacrifice that was made for us.  We can only receive from our new covenant what we have faith for it to cover.  It has already been provided, but it still must be received by our faith.  Hebrews 11:6 Amp, without faith, it is impossible to please God.

All through the four Gospels, you find Jesus talking to His disciples about faith (“if you had faith”, “ye of little faith”, “where is your faith?”).  Always it was a statement to do with their faith.  Starting in Romans and going all the way through the rest of the epistles, you never heard these statements made.  The reason is because He is talking to the church, “without faith, you can’t be a part of the church”.  Romans 10:9-10, vs 10 Amp, declares openly and speaks out freely His faith and confirms His salvation.  Also in Romans 1:17 Amp, concerning your faith, it says that the righteousness that God ascribed is revealed from faith, leading to more faith, disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to move faith, as it is written, “the man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith.” 

Everything the Christian lives by is his faith in the blood and the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.  Even though it has all been covered by the sacrifice, it must be appropriated by his faith in that sacrifice.  Does that mean that the sacrifice left something out? NO!  But you must use the faith of Romans 1:7 to continue in the faith as it is revealed.

Power of the Blood, Part 2

Power of the Blood, Part 2

In the very beginning when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, the Lord took the blood of the animals as life for them and then clothed them in their skins (Genesis 3:21).  This shedding of blood would keep them as though they were still under God's covenant until He could set His plan in motion.

Even the covenant He made with Abraham was not fully made until the blood was shed.  God promised to make Abraham the father of many nations in Genesis 12, but it wasn't until the blood was shed and the blood covenant was cut between God and His friend Abraham in Genesis 15:8-18.  When God passed through the blood of Abraham's offering in verse 18 He made a blood covenant with him.  The blood of that covenant had to be renewed from generation to generation (Genesis 17:10-14).

As we walk through the Word of God, we find the strength and the power of the blood covenant between God and His people.  In Genesis 22:1-19, we find the power of this blood covenant to be so strong that Abraham would have slain his only son on the strength and on behalf of this blood covenant with God.  It was on the strength of this act of dedication that God placed Himself in a position when it came time that if a man held that strong to his covenant as to give his only son on it's behalf, could God Himself do less?  It was on the basis that He extended the promise of His covenant to include you and me (Genesis 22:18).  Now this blood covenant would extend to a greater number of people and the blood of it would extend life to those who would walk in it.

This practice of shedding blood on behalf of the covenant was set in place between God and Abraham by the act of the cutting off of the foreskin (circumcision).  Every man child was to be circumcised from that time on in order to keep the life of this covenant renewed from generation to generation by blood.

The power of this covenant carried over unto the children of Abraham, even in the bondage of Egypt.  In Exodus 2:24, God heard the cries of the people and He went because of remembrance of His covenant with Abraham to set them free.

The people of Abraham apparently carried on the ritual of circumcision even when they were in Egypt.  When God called Moses out to deliver them, He never mentioned circumcision to him, but expected him to practice this in his own life and family.  Moses' wife (who was not Hebrew) objected to this sign of covenant and almost lost a son by talking Moses out of circumcision (Genesis 4:24-26).  Zipporah circumcised her own son to save him and then declared to Moses in verse 26 "a husband of blood are you because of the circumcision".

Once again in Exodus 12, we can see the significance of the power of the blood when God had the people put the blood of lambs over the door posts and lintel of their homes.  When the Death Angel saw the blood of covenant, he could not violate the power of it's life for the people of God and had to pass over them.  Also in Exodus 12:42-49, those who were in Egypt that were not Hebrew people, who wanted out, could be circumcised and could then qualify for covenant rights.  It wasn't about the nationality, but about the blood.  Verse 49 declared that there was to be one law for all of the circumcised people.  For those who understand the power of the blood, you find a strong and fearless people.  For those who did not understand its power, they still walked in fear.  You find in Numbers 12 and 13 Joshua and Caleb were strong in faith, the rest still walked in fear.  In 1 Samuel 17, the stand that David made against the giant, the power of his fight was stated before he ever took to battle.  In 1 Samuel 17:26, David made the declaration that set the course for his victory when he declared that this "uncircumcised Philistine" who has defeated the army of God.  David put his faith in the power of the blood that was shed for the covenant.

The blood of this covenant that is now eternal in the heavens, is something we, the church, should become more aware of and begin to put our faith back in the blood as never before.  In these last days, we need to understand it's power and keep it by faith over our doors as the destroyer comes. Ephesians 6:16, this shield of faith is faith in Jesus and the power of His shed blood on our behalf.