OCG BS 5 - The Power of Covenant Part III [Chapter 15 - 17]

Chapter 15 - I Belong To Someone Forever

- John 6:25-71
Why did these people find it hard to follow Christ? Find it hard to accept His words?
· For those who walked away, they missed out on
(1) Salvation
(2) Service for God (missed out on proclaiming the gospel)
(3) Eternal life [John 17:3, John 6:40]
(4) Covenant relationship with God
(5) Oneness with God [John 17:20-22]
(6) Enduring & unchanging love [John 15:13]

- Cost of following Jesus: Luke 9: 57-62
(1) Sacrific of comfort / security
(2) Prioritise (Jesus comes first)
(3) Committment

- Believe in God’s son: Eternal life is promised [John 6:40] “Now, this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.” [John 17:3]

- Enduring love [Romans 8:35,Romans 8:38-39, John 17:20-22]


Chapter 16 - He Will Always Bear My Wounds
- Scars to remember: Jesus as our Covenant Partner - He had been nailed to the cross. He bore the nails. How about us? Where are your brand-marks of Covenant? [2 Corinthians 6:4-10, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9]

- Qns: Does every one need to have a brand-mark?
All these 3 are to have brand-marks…as the above 3 kinds of people:
(1) As Christ’s slave [1 Corinthians 7:22]
(2) As a good soldier of Christ Jesus [2 Timothy 2:3]
(3) As the temple of the Holy Spirit [1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19]

“Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies.” [2 Corinthians 4:11] (NLT)

- Application: Have you chosen HIM to be your “Chief”? – Leader, Lord-Master, God.
What is your personal brand-mark as a slave, soldier of Christ and a temple of the Holy Spirit?

- Isaiah 53:4-6
· Who are the lost sheeps? --> US!!
· What was being beared by God:
(1) Our sorrows
(2) Pierced - trangresions
(3) Crushed - inquities [sin]
(4) Punished - peace [well-beings]
(5) Wounded - healing

Chapter 17 - I Have A Faithful Friend
- Have there been times – or are there times – when you wonder if God has forgotten or abandoned you? (Pg 157 of CG)

- An important truth: you are inscribed on the palms of His hands! “See My Hands”
· Do not depend on your feelings. The promise of God’s Word, not our feelings, is our authority.
· The Christian lives by faith (trust) in the trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word.
· Fact (God and His Word) – Engine
· Faith (Our trust in God and His Word) – Fuel-car
· Feeling (the result of our faith and obedience) – Passenger car [John 14:21]

- “He calls you friend” [John 15:15-16]
· How many of you are willing to truly lay down your life for your friend?
· Who will you be willing to die for?

- “The Striking or clasping of hands”
· But even in cultures where “hand-clasping is unknown in salutation, it is a symbol of the closest friendship” (Pg 162 OCG)
· It has roots in covenant: “pledge his allegiance – literally means gave His hand” [Ezekiel 17:18] (Pg 163 OCG)

- “Now put down a pledge for me with Yourself. Who is he who will shake hands with me?“ [Job 17:3] (NKJV)
“Lay down now, put me in a surety with thee; who is he that will strike hands with me?” [Job 17:3] KJV)

- “Strike” – taqa – taw kah – to slap/drive/pierce

- Application: Are you facing a situation in despair? Will you look to God for comfort and provision? Trust Him to be your sufficiency and caretaker? Realize that flesh can fail- and WILL fail! – Because flesh and its days on earth is limited. God’s promise for Job: – His restoration [Job 42:12]

SO will you strike hands with God as Your faithful Friend?

The Servant King
From heaven You came, helpless babe
Entered our world, Your glory veiled
Not to be served, but to serve
And give Your Life that we might live

This is our God, the servant King
He calls us now to follow Him
To bring our lives as a daily offering
Of worship to the servant King

There in the garden of tears
My heavy load He chose to bear
His heart with sorrow was torn
“Yet not my will but yours”, He said

Come; see His hands and His feet
The scars that speak of sacrifice
Hands that flung stars into space
To cruel nails surrendered

So let us learn how to serve
And in our lives enthrone Him
Each other’s needs to prefer
For it is Christ we’re serving

OCG BS4 - The Power of Covenant Part II [Chapter 12 - 14]

Chapter 12 - I Have A Defender & Vindicator

- Background of Jonathan and David’s covenant:
Jonathan was son of the king of Israel, Saul. While Saul was rejected as king because of his disobedience, he became jealous of and plotted to kill David, the next anointed king. Despite the animosity between Saul and David, Jonathan and David remained faithful to the covenant and became each other’s defenders.

- Jonathan defends David
Because David was so successful in whatever he did, Saul became angry and jealous of David and plotted to kill David several times. We see how Jonathan came to David’s defend on 3 occasions:

1. 1 Samuel 19:1-6
Saul told Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. Jonathan warned David and interceded successfully with Saul for him.

2. 1 Samuel 20
David flees from Saul and meets with Jonathan. They plan on how Jonathan will warn David if Saul is truly bent on killing David. Jonathan remains faithful even when faced with his father’s anger and is reminded of the uncertainty of his own future. “… ‘You son of a perverse and rebellious woman… As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established…’ ” [1 Samuel 20:30-31]
Note:
· Usage of covenantal term “kindness” in 1 Samuel 20:8 & 1 Samuel 20:14 as reminders to covenant.
· Involved God as sovereign administrator of their covenant [1 Samuel 20:8,13,23,42]
· Extension of covenant btwn them to family and descendants [1 Samuel 20:15, 42]

[To those who attended BS that day, we were discussing about David also promising Saul himself not to harm Saul’s descendants. The verse is in 1 Samuel 24:20-21 “I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. Now swear to me by the LORD that you will not cut off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father's family.”]

3. 1 Samuel 23:15-18
Saul again seeks David’s life. Jonathan helped David find strength in God, saying “Don’t be afraid. My father Saul will not lay a hand in you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.” And again, they made a covenant before God.

- David remains faithful to their covenant
2 Samuel 9
David has become the king of Israel. Remembering his covenant with Jonathan, he asks if there is anyone left in the house of Saul whom he can show kindness (covenantal term). Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, is brought before him. He fulfills his covenant promise by –
(i) restoring Saul’s land to him [2 Samuel 9:7]
(ii) providing servants to farm and till the land [2 Samuel 9:10]
(iii) inviting Mephibosheth to eat at his table [2 Samuel 9:7, 10, 11, 13]

- God as David’s Defender
David trusted God to be his Covenantal Defender. Instead of taking revenge his own way, he relied on God for his victories and waited for God’s timing. On 2 occasions, he could kill Saul but restrained from doing so.

1) 1 Samuel 24
· Saul was relieving himself of heat in a cave when David and his men were at the back in the cave. [1 Samuel 24:3]
· Encouraged by his men, David cut off a corner of Saul’s robe, but was conscience-stricken and rebuked his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD.” [1 Samuel 24:4-5]
· "May the LORD judge between you and me. And may the LORD avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you…" [1 Samuel 24:12]
· "May the LORD be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hand." [1 Samuel 24:15]

2) 1 Samuel 26
· David went to where Saul’s army had camped. He found Saul, lying asleep inside the camp with his spear stuck in the ground near his head. [1 Samuel 26: 5-7]
· "Don't destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the LORD's anointed and be guiltless? As surely as the LORD lives," he said, "the LORD himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the LORD forbid that I should lay a hand on the LORD's anointed.” [1 Samuel 26:9-11]
· "The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness. The LORD delivered you into my hands today, but I would not lay a hand on the LORD's anointed. As surely as I valued your life today, so may the LORD value my life and deliver me from all trouble." [1 Samuel 26:23-24]

- David trusted God to deliver and vindicate him, making him the king of Israel in God’s timing.

- God as our Defender and Vindicator in NT

1) Romans 12:14, 17-21
· Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. [Romans 12:14]
· Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. [Romans 12:17]
· If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. [Romans 12:18]
· Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. [Romans 12:19]
· On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." [Romans 12:20]
· Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. [Romans 12:21]

The above verses talks about exhibiting grace to enemies instead of taking revenge into our own hands.

- “heap burning coals on his head” is not an imagery of how God may avenge us, but an act of kindness as according to another culture, providing him warmth when cold.
· Egyptians had a tradition of carrying a pan of charcoal on one’s head as a public act of repentance, suggesting that we should treat our enemies with kindness so that they may be ashamed and turn from their sins.

- When we rely on God as our defender, we emerge as the ultimate victor, because when we emotionally let go, the dependence works itself out practically. (Let God deal with the enemies, we treat them with love.) We move into the driver’s seat of the relationship/ situation, and we are no longer controlled/enslaved by them. The inability to let go of things of the past can cripple us, paralyze us, stopping us from moving on and doing what we can.

2) Matthew 5:43-48
· "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' [Matthew 5:43]
· But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, [Matthew 5:44]
· that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. [Matthew 5:45]
· If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? [Matthew 5:46]
· And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? [Matthew 5:47]
· Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. [Matthew 5:48]

- love your enemy
- “be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”
another reminder of God as our covenantal partner as we are called to put on His robe, to be like Him.

“If earthly troubles cause you to dismiss
Believers’ chances in a world of sin,
Take heart, my brothers when I tell you this:
I’ve read the ending of this book
& it says: “WE WIN!”

Chapter 13 - I Have Something Worth Dying For

- Defend your covenant partner (God & the body of Christ)
· Covent is a 2 way street
-->Just as our enemies have become God's, His enemies have become ours
-->Just as God defends/protects us, we need to defend/protect Him (that encompasses His other covenant partners.)
· When you touch one covenant partner, you touch the other as well. [Acts 9:1, Acts 26:10-11]
· In persecuting Christians, Saul was actually persecting God, their covenant partner! [Acts 9:4]
· As Christians, we are God's annointed simply because we are in covenant with God (belong to Jesus by the blood of the New Covenant)
-->Upon beliving the gospel of our salvation / accepting Christ as our saviour, every believer receives an annointing which is the Holy Spirit [1 John 2:20, 1 John 2:27]

- We, as fellow Christians (all annointed by God), form the body of Christ
· We are members of one another, with Jesus as our head
· We are to defend one another, help, admoish, discipline [Colossians 1:28]
· Hurting one another is as good as spritual masochism & this hurts/grieves God as well

- Know the cost of being in covenant with God (God's enemies will be our enemies as well) John 15:18-19

- The world :-
· is the enemy of God
· values, priorities, standards, philosphies are distinctly opposed to God / truth
· does not like righteousness
· does not acknowledge God's sovereignty
· domain of "the prince of this world"

- Why the world hates us :-
· because it first hated God
· because Jesus took away every excuse for sin, by coming to earth as a frail human being, subjected to the emotions, limitations, struggles & temptations that you & I face and yet, walked in obedience to God, totally surrendered to His will, even to cruxifiction on the cross (holy & righteous life)
· therefore we as followers of Christ, who are chosen out of the world / set apart to be consecrated for His purposes, would also be hated/persecuted/ridiculed/snubbed

- "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." John 16:33
· Jesus is warning His followers
· As Christians, we should expect continuing tensions with an unbeliving world that is "out of sync" with Christ / His gospel / His people but at the same time, we can expect our relationship with God to provide peace & comfort because we are "in sync" & aligned with Him
· The disciples & us can take courage despite inevitable struggles & trials because we would not be alone but with the Holy Spirit's empowerment. [John 16:13-15]

- Take a stand against the ways of the world (God's enemy)
· Are we guilty of SPIRITUAL ADULTARY??
· Fidelity / loyalty to our covenant partner leaves no room for liasons / escapades / affairs with the "prince of this world" / Satan who is a murder, father of lies, thief and destroys [John 8:44, John 10:10]
· The gravity of disobedience / independence is highlighted in Paul's analogy of marriage [2 Corinthians 11:2-3]
--> Paul was anxious because the church's love should be for Christ alone, just as a pure virgin saves her love for one man only
--> Over here, "virgin" is meant the one who is unaffected by false doctrines
--> Some examples / things / people / goals / asepcts of our lifestyle that threatens / compromises our committments / allegiance to God are non-Christian boyfriends/girlfriends, hunger for nightlife, over-indulgence in leisure activities, video games - all that takes away our time from God & His ministry

- The apostle John reminds us that worldiness is not only limited to external behaviours, ie: people that we associate with, places we go & activities we enjoy

- Worldlines is also internal because it begins in the heart & is characterised by 3 attitudes [1 John 2:15-17]
(1) "Cravings of sinful man"
--> Preoccupied with gratifying physical desires like food / lust [Genesis 3:6, Matthew 4:1-11]
--> A way to "counter" this worldliness is by self-control
(2) "Lust of his eyes"
--> craving & accumlating things
--> bowing to the god of materialism
--> A way to "counter" this worldliness is by spirit of generosity
(3) "Boasting of what he has & does"
--> obession with one's status / importance
--> A way to "counter" this worldliness is to have a committment to humble service
*** We must be careful because it is possible to give the impression of avoiding worldy pleasures while still harbouring worldly attitudes in one's hearts.

- A powerful way to help us dimisish / extinguish worldly inclinations is found is 1 John 2:17
"The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who (B)does the will of God lives forever"

- God has also provided a powerful tool for overcoming the obstacles to living a godly life [2 Timothy 3:10-17, Romans 8:26-37]

Chapter 14 - I Have His Strength & Power

- Exchanging of the belt in making a covenant symbolises that when one is weak / run out of strength, the partner's strength & ability will be there for him. It is also used in protection that has been seen in
(1) Soldiers in David's time - holding sword & arrows
(2) Roman soldiers - keeping breastplates in place
(3) Modern day soldiers - holding grenades, bullets, knives

- Likewise, God has promised us His strength when we become covenant partners with Him. ·
· Imagine how God's power can be unleashed in our lives if we tap into His infinte resources
· Imagine how differently we would have lived our lives & react to circumstances / trials / tribulations / diffculities if we faced each day with the conscious knowledge & readiness to tap into God's strength & power

- We are to put on the FULL ARMOUR OF GOD when battling against our enemies [Ephesians 6:10-17]
· Our warring opponents are not flesh & blood but are the unseen yet powerful evil forces of fallen angels headed by Satan whose goal is to defeat Christ's church and to turn every man back to sin
· To withstand their attacks, we must depend on God's supernatural strength & to use every piece of His armour
· Although we are assured of the ultimate victory, we must engage in the struggle till Christ returns because Satan is constantly battling against all those who are on God's side

- The 6 Piece of Armour of God
(1) Belt of truth
(2) Breastplate of righteousness
(3) Sandals of the gospel of peace
(4) Shield of faith
(5) Helmet of salvation
(6) Sword of the Spirit

- Unceasing & continous prayers is also important

- "And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness " Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." [2 Corinthians 12:9]

- Perfected = teleioo in Greek which means finished, completed, accomplised

- Sometimes when God does not seems to answer our prayers for His removal of an afflictions whether it is physical / emotional / mental, it is because
· He wants to demostrate His power in us
· He wants to teach us to rely on God solely on our talents, energy, efforts, resources & abilities
· our weakness develops Christian character
· it also deepens our worship in admitting our weakness . human limitations, we affirm God's strength
· it also keeps us from being prideful or doing things or God's work by our own strength
· by acknowledging that we are weak, we then allow God to fill us with His power & we can become stronger than we could ever be on our own & will be truely effective for Him & do work that has lasting values

- Power = dunamis in Greek, which is the same word as ability

OCG BS 3 - The Power of Covenant Part I [Chapter 9 - 11]

Chapter 9 - I'm Assured Of My Covenant Heritge

- God initiated the rite of circumcision as He revealed Himself as El Shaddai, and changed Abraham's name to Abraham - "father of a multitude" and circumcision was a sign of the covenant, which were to be kept throughout every generation. [Genesis 17:7-8]

- God had made specific promises/covenant to Abraham & these promises were fulfilled as seen in Genesis, Exodus & Psalms 105.
· An heir from Abram's own body [Genesis 15:4], Psalms 105:9, [Genesis 21:1-3]
· Descendants as many as the stars in heaven [Genesis 15:5, Psalms 105:24]
· Inheritance of the land that God will give to Abram & his descendants[Genesis 15:7, Genesis 18-21, Psalms 105:44]
· Abram's descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs & will serve them & they will afflict them 400 years [Genesis 15:13, Psalms 105:16-23, Psalms 25, Exodus 12:40]
· The nation whom Abram's descendants serve God will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions [Genesis 15:14, Psalms 105:26-38, Psalms 42-43, Exodus 6:4-6]
· Abram will go to his fathers in peace; he will be buried at a good old age [Genesis 15:15, Genesis 25:7-8]
· In the 4th generation, Abram's descendants will return to the land [Genesis 15:16]

- If we walk in God's commandments, keep and perform them, we will receive blessings from Him. [Leviticus 26:3-13]

- However, if we choose to not obey Him, not observe His commandants and break the covenant, then God's curses will be upon us.
[Leviticus 26:14-39]

- Of course, if we confess our iniquity and are humbled to accept our guilt, we will receive grace from Him. [Leviticus 26:40-41]

Chapter 10 - I Have A New Identity

- When we have a covenant partner, we are no longer alone. When we put on our covenant partner's robe, it means that we take on the covenant partner's likeness & values. Also, we will make decisions taking regard for our covenant partner's concerns & interests & well-being. [1 Samuel 18:4]

- We are to put on Lord Jesus Christ & to lay aside the deeds of darkness. [Romans 13:12-14]

12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. [Romans 13:12-14]

- When we struggle, we should always take our struggles in sin to the Word because each new truth we learn is liberating. Sin is walking independently from God. That was the was the "old self", "old man" or "old you" lived until you, in faith, drank the cup of the New Covenant in His blood, the same covenant in which you spiritually walked into death and shed the old man. [2 Corinthians 5:14-17]
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. [ 2 Corinthians 5:17]

- In Colossians, this death of old self is the circumcision of your flesh. Circumcision is the cutting away of the old. [Colossians 2:11-13]

- A comparison of the old robe & new robe were made as well.
Old Robe
* Lay aside deeds of darkness [Romans 13:12]

* Behave indecently as in day time, in orgies & drunkedness, in sexual immoralities & debauchery, indessension & jealousy [Romans 13:13]
* Earthly natures: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed which
amounts to idolatory [Colossians 3:5]
* In anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language from lips, lie to each other [Colossians 3:8-9]

New Robe
* Put of amour of light [Romans 13:12]
* Cloth yourself in Lord Jesus Christ and do not think how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature [Romans 13:14]
* Cloth in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. [Colossians 3:12]
* Bear each other and forgive whatever grievences you may have against one another [Colossians 3:13]
* Put on love, let peace of Christ rule in your heart. Be thankful. [Colossians 3:14]
* Let the love of Christ richly dwell in you. [Colossians 3:16]

Chapter 11 - I Have His Help In Temptations

- Lord Jesus Christ became a man because He wants to put on the robe of man. [John 1:1-3, John 1:14]

- Lord Jesus Christ chose to leave the ivory palaces where the heavenly host constantly sang His praises, to a place where He is confine to our fleshly images and to be despised and rejected by men because:
* He loved us as Himself and wants to enter into a covenant with men & to put on our humanity. [John 3:16-17]
* That He might taste death for every man, ie: pay for our sins, for the wages of sin is death. Through death, He destroys the Satan, that might deliver those who fear death not to be the subject to slavery to Satan. [Hebrews 2:14-15]
* That we can have a high priest who can understand our weakness, sitting on the throne at the right hand of God because He knows that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. [Hebrews 2:17-18]

- Thus, we all must know how to deal with temptations like Jesus Christ.
* Through prayer and petitions [Hebrews 5:7]
* Not giving into temptations [Matthew 4:1-11]
* Living on the Word [Matthew 4:4]
* Submit to God & resist the devil [James 4:7]
* Flee from temptations & seek righteousness[2 Timothy 2:22]
* Better to lose one part of your body than for the whole body to be thrown to hell[Matthew 5:29-30]
* Resist & be firm in your faith [1 Peter 5:9]

OCG BS 2 - Covenant: Solemn & Binding [Chapter 6 - 8]

Chapter 6 - A Bond In Blood
- The ritual steps of making a covenant were explained. Each step is a promise that God gives us when He becomes our covenant partner. [Chap 6, page 49-50]
1) The exchange of robes - I am putting on you..and you me. We are one
2) The exchange of weapons - Your enemies are now mine..and mine yours
3) The exchange of belts - When you are weak, my strength will be there for you
4) Walking through the pieces of the flesh of the slain animal, which is a walk unto death, a death of my Self - I am dying to my independent living.. and to my rights
5) Swore an oath by pointing first to heaven then to the slain animals - God, do so to me.. if I break this covenant
6) Made a cut on their wrists and clasped their hands to mingle their blood - We--once two--have now become one
7) Recited what they owned - What is mine is yours..what is yours is mine
8) Rubbed dirt into their cut wrists - Whereever I am, when I lift my hand and see the scar, I will remember I have a covenant partner
9) Exchanged new names - Because of the covenant, I have a new identity
10) Partake a meal - You are eating me, and I you
11) A memorial was set up, as a testimony of the covenant - Now I call you Friend - my Friend who sticks closer than a brother

- Covenant was a pledge to death, a pledge born of love & a pledge cut in blood.

- Significance of blood.
a) Blood represents life [Leviticus 17:11]
11 'For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement." [Leviticus 17:11]
· Giving of blood represents the giving of life, and that the receiving of blood represents the receiving of life
· Inter-commingling of blood of two organismsis equivalent to the inter-commingling of the lives, of the personalities, of the natures thus brought together; so that there is one life in the two bodies, a common life between the two friends.

b) Blood shedding represents forgiveness [Hebrews 9:22]
22 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.· Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission, no forgiveness of sins [Hebrews 9:22] · · Without sheeding of blood, there is no remission , no forgiveness of sins

- 3 characteristics of a divine covenant [Chap 6, page 54-55]
a) A divine covenant is a bond
b) A divine covenant is a bond in blood
c) A divine covenant is a bond in blood sovereignly administered

- Justice is invocated when men made a covenant between themselves
· They called upon God to take holy vengeance should the covenant be broken
· A covenant cut in blood could require the blood of the one who broke the covenant
· And it was God who would to see to that holy vengeance!!

- Being our covenant partner, God has promised never to leave nor to forsake us [Hebrews 13:5]
5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," [Hebrews 13:5]

Chapter 7 - A Walk Into Death
- Faith is taking God at His Word, beliving Him and responding accordingly. Where there is true faith, there is a commitment of yourself to what you believe

- Jesus is calling us, His followers, to a walk into death - death to independent living [Mark 8:35-36, Luke 14:26-33]
35 "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. [Mark 8:35]
27 "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. [Luke 14:27]
33 "So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions. [Luke 14:33]

- In covenant, we no longer live for yourself; there is a Covenant Partner to consider, and we must be true to that Covenant Partner. A covenant is a bond that commits us to another. [Galatians 2:20]
20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. [Galatians 2:20]

- When one has turly come to Christ through the blood of the New Covenant, one has become a new creature in Christ Jesus. One is united with our Covenant Partner in death and raised to walk with Him in newness of life [2 Corinthians 5:17]

- When we acknowledge that Jesus died for our sins, we hear and velieve in our heart and are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. The Holy Spirit is in us, and our minds are set on the things of the Spirit. [Romans 8:1-5]

- By being born of God, we can no longer sin & are no longer living in sins [1 John 2:1, 1 John 3:4-6, 1 John 3:9]

Chapter 8 - An Unbreakable Commitment
- A Covenant is a covenant is a covenant. Covenant commitment is menat to be unbreakable

- God takes on our enemies, comes to our defense and commits His weaponary to our side [Chap 8, page 73-78]
· Joshua did not asked for the counsel of the Lord when the Gibeonites disguised themselves before him, asking for peace [Joshua 9:14-15]· Joshua made peace & covenant with the Gibeonites and let them live
· he even made the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to the Gibeonites
· 3 days later, the Israelites realised that the Gibeonites had lied but still did nto strike because of the covenant made [Joshua 9:18-19]
· King of Jerusalem & 4 other kings attack the Gibeonites
· Joshua keeping his covenant, lead army to fight of the kings for the Gibeonites [Joshua 10:7-8]
· God lead the battle for Joshua and won because Joshua kept his promises [Joshua 10:11]

OCG BS 1 - Covenant: The Very Gate of Heaven [Chap 2 to 5]

Chapter 2 – I Can Be Secure
- God’s covenant promises are unfailing and therefore to be believed and embraced by His people. [Jeremiah 33:20-21, 25-26]

---> Covenant made with David: David's descendants will rule over Abraham's descendants [Jeremiah 33:25-26, Galatians 3:6-7]
25 "Thus says the LORD, 'If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of heaven and earth I have not established,
26 then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob But I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them." [Jeremiah 33:19-26]

Chapter 3 – I Can Trust Him Completely
- First occurrence of the word covenant in the Word of God: Genesis 6:18
18 "But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall enter the ark--you and your sons and your wife, and your sons' wives with you. [Genesis 6:18]

- God obligated Himself to preserve man in the midst of judgment [Chap 3, page 200 - 23]
· Wickedness of man was rampant
· The Lord was grieved in His heart and decided to blot out all mankind on the face of the earth [Genesis 6:5-6]
· He found Noah to be only one who is righteous & blameless [Genesis 6:9]
· He made a covenant with Noah and everything under his care and instructed him to build the ark
· The Judgment of the Flood came
· When the Flood ended, Noah built an altar to the Lord and sacrificed a soothing aroma to God
· God will never curse the ground on account of man, for man’s heart is evil from his youth
· God made an unconditional promise to Noah [Genesis 9:9-11]
· He set a bow in the clouds to as a sign of the covenant to remember the covenant He has made with Noah [Genesis 9:12-16]

--> The Lord made a covenant with Noah: Never again to destroy all living creatures with a flood [Genesis 9:11]
11 "I establish My covenant with you; and all flesh shall never again be cut off by the water of the flood, neither shall there again be a flood to destroy the earth." [Genesis 9:11]

Thoughts to ponder:
a) Seeing the rainbow in the sky, what does it mean to you?
b) Do you think that the rainbow is meant for God to remember or for us to remember?

Chapter 4 – I Am Loved Unconditionally
--> The Lord made a covenant with Abraham: His descendants will be given land [Genesis 15:18]
18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates [Genesis 15:18]

- When Abraham asked God how he would know that he would possess the land, God asked Abraham to bring Him sacrifices, and God Himself was the one who was cutting the covenant [Genesis 15:9-21, Chap 4, page 29-33]

- Made a covenant => karath beriyth in Herbrew
· It is a solemn, binding agreement made by passing through the pieces of flesh
· When the word beriyth [covenant] is used between God and man, it is a covenant accompanied by signs, sacrifices, and a solemn oath that sealed the relationship with promise of blessing for keeping the covenant and curses for breaking it.
· When God enters into a covenantal relationship with men, he sovereignly institutes a life-and-death bond.
· A covenant is a bond in blood, or a bond of life and death, sovereginly administered.

· Noticed that there is shedding of blood.

- In the Old Testament/covenant, the one passing through the pieces pledged his faithfulness to the covenant. If that faithfulness was broken, he called death upon himself, or the same fate, which befell the animals.

Chapter 5 – His Promises Will Never Fail
- A new covenant, that offered an exchange of death for life, had began at the Lord’s supper. [Genesis 26:26-28]
· That promised covenant would change forever the awful consequence of the wages of sins – death

- Covenant => diatheke in Greek is used in New Testament/covenant
· Not the usual Greek word for covenant
· It is a testament or an agreement
· Denotes disposition – which is a settlement of one’s property and possessions at death
· It is like the word grace. It means a bond between unequal partners.

- Covenant => suntheke in Greek, which is a more ordinary word to be used
· Suntheke which denotes agreement, was based on such an extent on the legal equality of the parties, that it could not be incorporated in the Scripture system of thought. The idea that the priority belongs to God in the establishment of covenant and that He sovereignly imposes His covenant on man was absent from this word

- A covenant can refer to 2 equal parties or a disposition between 2 unequal parties. The crux is who are the parties concerned.

- In this context, the parties concerned are God and man, which are unequal parties. Therefore God is the Sovereign who stipulates His demands and vouchsafes His promises and we assume the duties imposed upon us voluntarily and thus inherit the blessings.

Thoughts to ponder:
a) Do you feel secure after knowing that God has made a covenant with you? Share your thoughts, quoting from the book or scripture.
b) What areas of my life do I feel/know that I’ll need to trust God more?
c) In your opinion, did God make the right choice to come down to earth and cut the new covenant of grace with man? Share your thoughts.
d) Honestly speaking, do we deserve God’s grace and unconditional love?

Exhortation: We must remember what the Lord has done for us on the Cross, because in the end times, it will be very evil as in the days of Noah.