I. Hesed/Agape Covenant Love
A. Covenant love is Mercy; Chesed-kindness, loving kindness, favor, goodness; Unfailing love, loyal love, devotion, kindness, often based on a covenant relationship-Goodness, mercies, good deeds
1. This is the driving compassion to give – to enter a covenant of blood forever for someone else’s benefit; to promise to give until it is too good to be true; Then swear in ur own blood in order to prove that you’re not lying-so they can believe & receive
a. The deepest desire to give compassion; the drive brought about by mercy; To be full of eager yearning
2. To enter a covenant of blood forever, totally, for someone else’s benefit & blessing
3. To give yourself totally and all you have to someone who has nothing
4. “Love” is in the verb form and it is the Greek word Agapeo-To totally give yourself to
a. It’s what we bind ourselves with and become one with
b. It’s total commitment and consumption
c. It is in every sense of the word fanaticism
d. It’s what we put first in our lives
e. It’s a commitment love
5. One of the translations of the word hesed/agape is the bowing of the neck – I’m always your servant and never your god (Jesus washed the feet of his disciples)
6. Remember-I hold you in my mind – You are ever before me – I live in constant reality of the bond between us – It is as if I am at this moment standing n the blood swearing – I am-never I did or I will in the future, always now – I am plotting and planning ways to bless you and surprise you as I keep the covenant terms – Always action. Knock-I’ll open. Seek you’ll find. Ask-you’ll receive
B. God bound himself through the blood covenant to be hesed to us (Is 54:10, Deut 7:9)
1. He said I swear by myself to Hesed you and to keep my covenant with you
2. He had a choice, but He doesn’t have one anymore
a. He bound himself to this through covenant
C. The Hesed/Agape help of God (Isaiah 41:8:13, Romans 8:26)
II. Understanding Hesed
A. Exodus 34:5-7 – God is describing Himself is to Moses
1. Merciful (Rahum) – compassionate, full of compassion
2. Gracious (Hannun) – compassionate
3. Longsuffering (Arek) – slow to anger, patient
4. Abundant (Rab) – Great, enough, plenteous, suffice, too much, abundantly, exceedingly, increased, full, great multitude
5. Goodness (Hesed) – Hesed/Agape, loving-kindness, goodness, tender-mercy
6. Truth (Met) – faithfulness, reliability, trustworthiness, the book of truth is a reliable book
B. Hesed acting
1. Psalm 61:7 – Hesed and faithfulness will watch over you
2. Psalm 66:20 – Hesed is always with me will never turn away from you
3. Psalm 94:18 – Hesed will support you and be the strength where you are weak – That’s covenant talk; I’m going to make you strong where you are weak
4. Psalm 138:8 – Hesed is perfecting that which concerns you
5. Psalm 119:76 – Hesed comforts you
6. Isaiah 63:7 – Hesed has to bless somebody
C. Psalm 86:5,7,13,15 – Hesed will answer you and deliver you
1. 5-God is plenteous in hesed
2. 7- I will call upon thee; for you WILL answer me
D. Psalm 103
1. 3-Hesed himself is the one who forgives and heals
2. 4-He crowns you with hesed
3. 8-Hesed is merciful, gracious, slow to anger
4. 11-His hesed his great
5. 12-Hesed removed our transgressions as far as the east is from the west
6. 17-The hesed of God is forever – That’s covenant talk
7. 18-You receive that Hesed by doing what he says
8. 20-Hesed gave you those angels
E. Hosea 2:18-23
1. 18-God’s making covenant
2. 19-I will bind myself to you forever in hesed and faithfulness
3. 23-You are my people and I’m your God
III. The backside of Hesed
A. Deuteronomy 7:8;26
1. 8-The Lord brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you because He loves you with a covenant loyal love and He swore to your Father’s to do so
2. 9-Your God is Elohim
3. 9,12-He’s faithful to keep the covenant & hesed to those that do what he says to do
4. The front side of Hesed; Blessing you, multiplying you; increasing you-Hesed does that; You shall me blessed above all people-Hesed does that; Hesed is taking away all sicknesses
5. The backside of Hesed; Laying sickness on those that are against you-That’s Hesed; You shall consume all the people who come against you-That’s Hesed; God will do to your enemies what he did 2 Egypt-That’s Hesed; That’s the backside of Hesed when u mess w/ His covenant people
B. Psalm 59:8-10
1. God is MY defense – My enemies are your enemies
2. God will meet me with Hesed – Hesed is always ready serve, always close by, ready to show covenant loyal steadfast love
3. God shall let me see MY DESIRE upon my enemies; Your wish is my command-Jn 15:7, 1 Sam 20:4
C. Psalm 89:1-3,
1. 14-Kindness and faithfulness precede his countenance; When you see God that’s what you see
2. 17-Horn – Strength or status
3. 18-The Lord is our defense-My enemies are your enemies
4. 21-My arm will strengthen them – My strength is your strength
5. 23-I will beat down his foes because I’m in covenant with him
D. Psalm 143:8,12
1. 8-Cause me to hear your hesed – That’s Hesed guiding you
2. 12-And of your hesed cut off my enemies for I am your servant and we’re in covenant
IV. Receiving Hesed
A. Faith is the bridge that hesed crosses to come into and overflow your life (Psalm 32:10)
1. Compass – surround, encircle, engulf, shield, enclosed
a. Hesed/agape, loving-kindness, goodness, tender-mercies will go before you, stand behind you, rest above you and settle under you, it will be to your right and left
2. When you refuse to doubt and waver and compromise you will receive the hesed that heals, provides, prospers, delivers, protects
B. Isaiah 30:15-This place of resting in love and faith is where your strength his, your victory is
1. They refused that place with doubt, unbelief, and fear
2. God’s waiting on u to enter into that rest of love and faith b/c when your in that place he can be hesed to you; He wants to be Hesed to you but you got to rest in love & faith b/c of this BLC
C. God gets pleasure when He sees His children standing on the covenant trusting in his hesed/agape, loving-kindness, tender-mercy (Psalm 147:11)
1. Pleasure (rasa) – delight, enjoy, pleased
2. Hope (yachal) – trust, stay, hope, wait
3. When you’re standing in faith, trusting in Hesed that pleases God
D. Micah 7:18-20 – God will perform His hesed and his word that he swore
1. 18-Hesed pardons iniquity, passes by transgression, retains no anger
2. 18-God delights in Hesed
a. Delight – desires, takes pleasure in,
3. 19-Hesed his turning again, Hesed has compassion on us, Hesed subdues their iniquities, Hesed casts their sins into the depths of the sea
4. 20-Hesed always performs what it promises
V. U walk in ur covenant identity by keeping hesed/agape before ur eyes & on your mind all of the time
A. Psalm 26:3 – Keep Hesed Agape ever before your eyes
1. He could write Psalm 27 because he kept Hesed before his eyes
B. Psalm 106:7 – Don’t lose consciousness of this hesed
1. They forgot Hesed and turned covenant people into a bunch of sissified wimps (Exodus 14:11)
C. Lamentations 3:21-24
1. I recall God’s hesed to my mind and it births in me expectation and that’s why I’m bold and that’s why I expect; Hesed is why we win; The Lord is my portion
D. Real Bible faith is faith in the Father’s love (1 John 4:16)
1. Psalm 36:7 – You’re hesed is so awesome it’s easy to put my trust in you
a. Hesed will see to it that you are abundantly satisfied