FOUNDATION STATEMENT: As believers, we must begin to live in the reality of our covenant identity. We are more than just “Christians” we are covenant people with almighty God. When you entered into covenant you took on a new identity.- Proverbs 18:24
I. God had bound himself to be hesed/agape/loving-kindness towards us (Isaiah 54:7-14)
A. This is like the water of Noah
1. He made covenant with Noah and the sign was the rainbow
2. He made covenant to always be Hesed to us
B. Hesed – Unfailing love, loyal love, devotion, kindness, often based on a covenant relationship – Kindness, goodness, loving-kindness, favor, mercies, good deeds
1. This is the driving compassion to give
2. The deepest desire to give compassion = the drive brought about by mercy – “To be full of eager yearning.”
a. Compassion, bowels (splagchnos) – there was a movement of compassion in Jesus that surged out of him to meet the needs of the people. When a person’s bowels move it produces action.
3. To enter a covenant of blood forever for someone else’s benefit and blessing; to promise to give until it is too good to be true. Then swear in your own blood in order to prove that you’re not lying-so they can believe and receive.
4. To give yourself totally and all you have to someone else
a. “Love” is in the verb form & it is the Greek word-Agapao -to totally give yourself to
1) It’s what we bind ourselves with and become one with
2) It’s total commitment and consumption
3) It is in every sense of the word fanaticism
5. 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
a. Hesed doesn’t have anything else to do, but to be ready for u when it’s needed
b. The standby ministry of the Holy Spirit
6. One of the translations of the word hesed/agape is the bowing of the neck – I’m always your servant and never your god
a. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples (John 13:5-16)
1) We’ve tried to have the same religious attitude that Peter had and we’ve blocked God’s hesed with our “humility”
(a) In our attempt to be “humble” we’ve missed out on the true desire of God to be hesed to us
2) We’ve been ignorant of what pride is
(a) Who am I to stand up and talk like that in front of God? We thought that was being humble.
(b) We thought saying that we were nobody but worms in the dust, no good for nothing sinners was being humble. In reality that’s pride because you’re refusing to submit to your Covenant Identity.
3) In the fear of being what we thought was prideful, we’ve missed out on the hesed of God
b. Matthew 20:27-28, 23:11 – God serves me in Hesed, and I serve Him in Hesed
C. God bound himself to be Hesed to you
1. He stood in blood and promised you that this Hesed would never leave you
2. He didn’t have to do this, but he promised it and then sealed it with blood to prove that he would do it and now He has to
II. Friend is a covenant word and it’s birthed out of hesed
A. The friend that sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24)
1. Friend – to love, covenant loyalty
2. That friend that sticks closer than a brother is the friend that you entered blood covenant with and that friend will stick closer to you than a brother born of the same womb who you have no covenant with
3. Friendship is birthed out of covenant – Without covenant there is no friendship, there’s an acquaintance
B. Friends of God who stood before God boldly because they knew their covenant
1. Abraham was a friend of God, a covenant partner (James 2:23)
a. Abraham gets stands in front of God for Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:19-33)
1) God went and got His Covenant Partner’s cousin out and then destroyed it
2. Moses was a friend, a covenant partner of God (Exodus 32:9-14)
a. Moses got in God’s face about these people and said remember your covenant
b. God changed his mind, and then Moses went down there and rebuked those people for His covenant Partner’s (God’s) sake
3. Jehoshaphat was a friend of God through covenant (2 Chronicles 20:5-)
a. 6-He declares that God has power and might that no man can with stand
b. 7-He declares that He is their God and they are His people – That’s covenant talk – Everything that I have is yours through covenant
1) That strength he talked about in verse 6 is theirs
c. 7-He declares Abraham was a friend of God, they are the seed of Abraham and that makes them the fried of God, and it’s forever b/c blood covenant is forever
d. 9-They got God’s name through covenant and put it on the house they built
e. 9-You WILL hear and You WILL help
1) He knows his covenant identity
2) God probably responded I most certainly will
f. 12-They are bigger than us and in our own ability we don’t have what it takes, but our eyes our own you because you’re our God and you’re in covenant with us
g. 15-The battle is the Lord’s – Your enemies are my enemies
h. 17-The Lord will be with you – I’ll fight with you even it means my own death
i. 21-Go down there and sing God’s hesed/agape/loving-kindness/I’ll never leave you nor forsake you/Your enemies are mind enemies/I help you/I’ll fight with you even if it means my own death endures forever
1) You better know your covenant identity if you’re going to go down there with a bunch of singers
C. Part of this covenant ceremony is we become the friend of God (Isaiah 41:8)
1. 8-Theses covenants were generational and would go onto the children and the children’s children
a. God’s telling them that you’re my servant, the seed of Abraham my friend and if Abraham is my friend that makes you my friend
2. 9-He’s telling them, I’ve chosen you, to be your covenant God
3. 10-I’m with you-I’m in covenant w/ you & I’ll stand with u even in the midst of death
4. 10-I’m your God – That’s covenant talk
5. 10-I’ll strengthen you – I’m given you my strength
6. 10-I’ll help you – Romans 8:26 – Sunantilambano
7. 10-I’ll uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness – I lift my hand to you
8. 13-Hold your right hand and walk through that blood
9. 14-The were crawling around like a bunch of sissy worms in the dust
a. Psalm 72:9 – Their enemies are supposed to licking dust not them
D. Come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16)
1. You don’t find grace by being a worm in the dust; you find grace by coming boldly, courageously, and fearlessly as a friend of God
E. Covenant friends of God:
III. Walking in our covenant identity
A. Sit with him in Heavenly places
1. Quit acting like a bunch of spiritual sissies. Put your shoulders back, put your head up, and start acting like who you are.
2. I’m a covenant partner with God, I’m an ambassador from Heaven, I’m a citizen of the household of faith, I’m an alien in this land because I’m not from you, I’ve been sent here as an ambassador of King Jesus, and I have the power to function on this earth that Jesus did because I’m come not in my name, but I come in the name of the most High God and I have His covenant
B. Covenant people who walk in their covenant identity are bold and confident
1. David was this way (1 Samuel 17)
a. Who is this no covenant having fool down here spouting off at the mouth
b. I’m bigger than the giant because of who I’m in covenant with
c. 37,46-He WILL-David told Saul and Goliath exactly what he was going to do with no blink in his eye or wavering and then he did it
d. He took on his covenant identity
2. Psalm 23-This Psalm was written at one of the most terrible times of his life & his response is surely hesed will chase me downs and I’ll dwell in the family of God all the days of my life
a. There’s no religious rationalized doubt or wavering
3. The three Hebrew Children (Daniel 3)
a. Our God – That’s covenant talk
b. He will deliver us – We know where we stand with God
IV. You walk in your covenant identity by keeping hesed/agape before your eyes and 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
2. Hesed is why we win
3. 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