The Blood Covenant

 

Mes(24)02Sept2018

SCRIPTURE READING:

 

Genesis 15:7-18 NKJV

(7) Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans,

to give you this land to inherit it.”

(8) And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”

(9) So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat,

a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

(10) Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle,

and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two.

(11) And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

(12) Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram;

and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.

(13) Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.

(14) And also the nation whom they serve I will judge;

afterward they shall come out with great possessions.

(15) Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace;

you shall be buried at a good old age.

(16) But in the fourth generation they shall return here,

for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

(17) And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold,

there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces.

(18) On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying:

“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river,

the River Euphrates

 

(B) TEXT:

 

2 Timothy 1:9 NLT

For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.

 

2Timotheüs 1:9 ANV: Hy het ons gered en ons geroep om aan Hom toegewy te wees. Dit het Hy gedoen, nie op grond van ons dade nie, maar op grond van sy eie besluit en die genade wat Hy van ewigheid af in Christus Jesus aan ons geskenk het.

 

(C) INTRODUCTION:

 

1. We read about two kinds of covenants in the Bible:

 

(a) The covenant between God and man: 

 

-E.g. God and Abraham

–Gen 15:7-18

 

(b) The covenant between man and man:

 

-E.g. David and Jonathan

 

1 Samuel 18:3-4 MSG

(3)  Jonathan, out of his deep love for David, made a covenant with him.

(4)  He formalized it with solemn gifts: his own royal robe and weapons—armor,

sword, bow, and belt.

 

-E.g.  Marriage covenant between husband and wife – Malachi 2:14

 

2. How they made a covenant:

 

-Sacrifice (slaughtered animals, cut them in half and put them opposite one another)

-Exchange of jackets or robes (represented authority)

-Exchange girdles or belts (represented our enemies, war)

-Exchange names

-Exchange gifts

-Exchange, mixed and mingled blood (Raise right arm, mix blood)

–Scar

–Promises, covenant terms: What I have belongs to you, what you have belongs to me.

–Eat a memorial meal (Communion)

–Plant a memorial (planting of a tree)

–Celebrations

 

(D) IT IS ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIP:

 

Covenant is the basis of our relationship with God.

A relationship sovereignly initiated by God Himself, out of His own choice and decision.

Mans part is simply to respond to God’s offer of a covenant and to accept the relationship which that covenant brings with it.

To fully understand our relationship with God we need to understand the scriptural concept of covenant.

Every permanent relationship of God with man is based on a covenant.

 

 

(E) THE SACRIFICE:

 

There is only one basis on which God makes a covenant – the basis of sacrifice.

Without a sacrifice there can be no covenant.

Wherever there is a covenant, there must be a sacrifice; and wherever there is

a sacrifice, there must be the shedding of blood.

 

Psalm 50:5 NKJV

“Gather My saints together to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”

 

Two things are essential for entering into a permanent relationship with God:

a covenant and a sacrifice. Without a covenant there can be no relationship with God: without a sacrifice there can be no covenant. Scripture speaks about the process of making a covenant as the cut of a covenant

 

(F) PROMISE OF GOD:

 

Genesis 15:7 MSG

GOD continued, “I’m the same GOD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldees

and gave you this land to own.”

 

Hebrews 6:13 MSG:  When God made his promise to Abraham, he backed it to the hilt, putting his own reputation on the line.

 

Hebrews 6:17-19 MSG:

(17) When God wanted to guarantee his promises, he gave his word,

a rock-solid guarantee..

(18)  God can’t break his word.

And because his word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable.

(19)  It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline,

reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God

 

God made promises to this church …to people sitting here …

“Yes but Pastor, how may I know…”

 

(G) HOW MAY I KNOW ?:

 

Genesis 15:8 NKJV: And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”

 

In reply the Lord proceeds to make a covenant with Abram

God’s final commitment to do anything is in a covenant. When God has entered

into a covenant, there is no more that He can do to commit Himself.

Covenant represents final, irrevocable commitment.

Once God has made the covenant with Abram he does not say “I will give”,

He says in Gen 15:18 “I have given” The covenant has settled it – finally and forever.

Yes Pastor, but you don’t know my circumstances … What I am going through …

I’m going through hell! I lost a lot…

 

(H) BIRDS OF PREY:

 

Genesis 15:11 AB

And when the birds of prey swooped down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

 

It was Abram’s responsibility to drive the birds of prey away. God ordained the sacrificial objects, but it was Abram’s job to keep them intact. God provided the sacrifice in Christ for you and me.

 

2 Corinthians 1:20 NKJV

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen,

to the glory of God through us.

 

It is our job to keep those satanic birds from preying on the sacrifice and robbing us

from our benefits, stealing our promises. Don’t allow doubt and fear to rob you from your promises and your inheritance. Maybe you feel as if you are surrounded by terror

and great darkness.

 

(I) GREAT TERROR AND DARKNESS:

 

This is exactly how Abram felt, what he experienced

 

Genesis 15:12 AB

When the sun was setting, a deep sleep overcame Abram, and a horror

(a terror, a shuddering fear) of great darkness assailed and oppressed him.

 

It is not necessarily a mark of immaturity or weakness to go through darkness.

Do you know that some of the greatest saints of God go through periods of spiritual darkness? Abram as a mature committed believer went through it as well. It was part of his total spiritual experience. His darkness was a preview of what his descendants were to suffer in Egypt. God revealed it to him!

 

Genesis 15:13-14 MSG

(13)  GOD said to Abram, “Know this: your descendants will live as outsiders

in a land not theirs; they’ll be enslaved and beaten down for 400 years.

(14)  Then I’ll punish their slave masters;

your offspring will march out of there loaded with plunder.

 

(J) A NEW DIMENSION:

 

1. In verse 17 a new dimension is added to Abram’s experience:

 

Genesis 15:17 MSG

When the sun was down and it was dark, a smoking firepot and a flaming torch

moved between the split carcasses.

 

To the darkness of night is added the blackness of smoke belching from an oven.

Frequently in scripture, an oven or a furnace typifies intense suffering.

 

Isaiah 48:10 NKJV

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

 

This applies at times to all of God’s people. That is where God refines you and tests you.

In the midst of this overwhelming darkness to which Abram was subjected – a

darkness both natural and supernatural – there was

“a flaming torch moved between the split carcasses”

 

2. God is light, God is life and God is love:

 

Genesis 1:4 (AMP): And God saw that the light was good (suitable, pleasant)

and He approved it; and God separated the light from the darkness.

 

True holiness divides between light and darkness. Holiness is God Himself separating the light from the darkness in our lives and our hearts. When we understand holiness in terms of covenant and circumcision, then we have a true understanding of holiness.

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COMMUNION:

 

As we take the bread and the cup of communion, it is as if we are passing through the pieces into the blood covenant with Jesus. Let us remember what He did for us. Let us remind Him of His promises for us.  And let us be committed and loyal in doing our part in this blood covenant.

 

Let’s pray:

Jesus we know that you are completely bound to loyalty with us.

We are completely bound to loyalty with you.

This is no light or superficial matter. To drink your blood is to become one with you in a life-for-life,  soul-for-soul partnership.

 

Jesus, you said in John 6:54-58 that in order to enter the new covenant, we must all drink of your blood and eat of your flesh. You indicated here that we must all join our lives into complete covenant unity with you, our lives for your life and your life for ours.

 

HAVE COMMUNION