Scripture reference: 1Samuel 7:26 (NKJV); Psalm 23:6 (NKJV); Ps 86:1-5 (NIV); Ps 86:13,15-16 (NIV), Ps 101:1 (NKJV); 2 Chronicles 20:20-21 (NKJV); 2 Chronicles 20:22 (NKJV); Genesis 24:1-4 (NKJV); Genesis 24:10-14 (NKJV), Genesis 24:26-27 (NKJV); Genesis 12:1-4 (NKJV); Genesis 15:1-2 (NKJV); Genesis 15:4 (NKJV); Genesis 15:6 (NKJV); Genesis 15:9 (NKJV); Genesis 15:18 (NKJV); Genesis 16:2 (NKJV); Galatians 4:21-30 (NKJV); Hebrews 10:16-17 (NKJV
Pastor Sharon Bendixen: Father, today Your word says; “Today, when You hear His voice, today, when You hear His voice,” Your word appeals to us. “Do not harden Your hearts as they did in the time of the wilderness.” Father, today You will not find hardened hearts here. Today, You find receiving, believing hearts. We are ready, Lord, our hearts are ready, Lord, to receive and believe and speak and sow the seed of Your word, of this message that comes to us today through Pastor Christi, Lord. We know that You have spoken to her heart and so we drink it in. We eat, we eat this morning the Living Bread. We feed on the live Living Bread coming to us – live right now. Your word coming to us, the full download. We’re in live lock with You, Lord. Hallelujah. We’re receiving all the data. We’re receiving it. We’re downloading it into our spirit through the messenger, Lord, through Pastor Christi. We thank You that she’s strengthened with mighty power in her inner man, Lord. She speaks the oracles of God, and we thank You for all of this today in Jesus’ name. And we say, Amen. Come, Pastor Christi. We love you, we can’t wait to hear what the Lord is showing you.
Pastor Christi Grobler: Thank you, Pastor Sharon. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. We are in full agreement with what Pastor Sharon just prayed and we all say, Amen. You may be seated. Good morning, everybody.
Hallelujah. The Lord is talking to us about covenant. So, will you please open your Bibles in 1 Samuel chapter 7 this morning. We’re going to dive in straight away. 1 Samuel chapter 17. We know how David came with covenant talk against Goliath. Let’s read from verse 26 26 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, (1 Samuel 17:26 NKJV)
David was actually asking, “Who is this man who has no covenant with God?” So, David spoke covenant all the time. Not only this time, but all the time. Please go to Psalms 23 this morning. I want to show you today and talk about a Hebrew word that changed my understanding about covenant. Walking, talking, praying covenant. Many believers really do not know what to do with their covenant. They don’t pray it, and they don’t say it.
So, in Psalm 23 verse 6, David says: 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me. (Psalm 23:6 NKJV). But, I want to show you this morning, that the word mercy is the word Hesed. Hesed. Will you guys put that verse for me on the screen? The next one. Thank you.
So, David said, “Surely,” and I want you to listen to this. The word Hesed that David used. He said are the obligations and the rights required in a covenant. That’s actually what David said. It’s a powerful word. Some say “ghe-sed”, but most people say Hesed. So, you can choose which one. So, I did and guys, if it’s possible, it will be wonderful. I want to read to you actually what David was praying. David actually said, surely goodness and God fulfilling His covenant promise to me are following me. So, mercy is included, but David was talking covenant here.
Now the word hesed. Do you guys have that definition for me? If it’s on the board, good; if not, no problem.
The word hesed means this. The conduct required in a covenant relationship. There’s actually a conduct required. The obligations and rights that must be fulfilled. Action must happen. Hesed is actually the very content of any covenant – marriage covenant – a blood covenant.
What is being said? What is being agreed upon? Now it must be done. A blood covenant is a relationship that has blood and words. Please go to Psalm 86. Very important. Pastor John shared with us, that there are contracts, people who have agreements, and it has no blood. But our covenant with the Lord is a blood covenant. We are redeemed by the blood of the Lord. Our faith in the blood and God’s words. We’re going to see it this morning. Now, just like Psalm 23, David is walking, David is talking, and I want to show you this morning, he’s praying covenant. Hallelujah.
Psalm 86, verses one to five. 1 Hear me, O Lord, and answer me. David says, I’m poor and needy. 2 Guard my life, for I am faithful. I’m also keeping Your covenant, Lord. But let’s go to verse five. I want to show you. 5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love. (Ps 86:1-5 NIV) But once again, it’s not the right translation, no, again, it’s the word hesed. So, David is actually saying, Lord, you are forgiving and good, not “abounding in love”. It’s part of the covenant, but you are fulfilling right now Your covenant obligations to me.
This is completely different. Like I said – I really believe, I see it in the Bible school as well – believers do not know what to do with their covenant. Look at verse 13. From the start in verse 13, this is actually amazing. “13 For great is your love” (Psalm 86:13 NIV) No. Yes, it’s part of the covenant, but that word again is hesed: So, Lord, great is Your protection and Your blessings. Now, Lord, act on it. I’m needy. I’m needy. I come to You. Now You must perform my covenant rights. You to me, towards me.
Look at verse 15. How many times is he coming with covenant to God in only this one Psalm? I’m going to show you. Verse 15. “15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love.” (Psalm 86:15 NIV) No, it’s wonderful. Yes, God is abounding in love, but in hesed, he says, No, You abound in doing, performing right now Your covenant promises to me. It’s a completely different conversation happening here. Look at verse 16. “16 Turn to me and have mercy.” (Psalm 86:16 NIV) No, mercy is hesed. Once again, Do Your promises, Lord. Let them come to pass right now in my life.
Go to Psalm 101, verse one, please. And you know what? Immediately, I know by faith you can hear, you can hear right now. This is us like Pastor Sharon said this morning. We are singing the covenant words of God. We are singing the covenant promises of God. No Lord, right now, everywhere we look, blessings. As You sit there Lord, this is our planted place. We are wealthy-ing. We are laughing, Lord, right now. Bring it to pass, our Covenant Partner, in the name of Jesus. Psalm 101, verse one, 1 I will sing of your love (Psalm 101:1 NKJV) No. Yes, Your love brought about Your covenant, but that word, love, I will sing, I will hesed. I will come and ask You while I’m singing, Perform Your blessings. You are obligated Lord, to bring it to pass right now. Hallelujah.”
You can hear and I mean this is already happening to me, just like Pastor Sharon taught us. You know, I know it’s the same for you in the mornings when I fellowship with the Lord in the Book of Psalms. You can imagine I’m going to a whole different place now. The same with you. Covenant talk, praising God, intertwined, having fellowship with Him. Praise the Lord. This is very, very beautiful. I’m just going to, before I switch over in my message today, the way the Lord led me for this morning. I want to show you how powerful it is that the Old Testament people, well, the New Testament as well, but I want to show it to you here, how they talked covenant.
Second Chronicles 20. Let’s go to Second Chronicles 20:20, a scripture that we all love so much. I mean, I do. I know you do. And it’s a very powerful scripture in my life to occupy and to receive, especially the prophetic word that God’s got for us. Second Chronicles 20:20 till 22. So. this is Jehoshaphat’s army. All the other tribes are really coming against them. Verse 20. 20 So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; … Jehoshaphat stood and he spoke to them and he said, “Hear, O Judah. Look at verse 21. He said to them what we know, Lord, be established in the Word of God and believe the prophets and you will prosper. But I want you to focus on verse 21. 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who would sing. (2 Chronicles 20:20-21 NKJV)
Actually, what he did, was he appointed sound and song. He appointed sound and song to the Lord who should praise the beauty of holiness. Look what they said when they started to sing. 21 “Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever.” (2 Chronicles 20:21 NKJV) No, mercy endures forever is not the right translation. They started to sing, hesed. They started to attack with covenant singing. They were singing, announcing just like David did.
You do not even have a covenant with God. Singing, singing, coming to the enemy, but we come in our covenant with the Lord and He loves keeping covenant. He’s doing it right now. He is acting on it. They came singing. That’s the word hesed. Talking, praying, singing covenant. Hallelujah.
Oh, and you know what? When I just made these notes, I said, “Lord, in this ecclesia, might we receive revelation upon revelation regarding Sound and Song.” To put our foot in Sound and Song. To attack with our covenant rights. Look at verse 22. “22 Now when they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the enemy.” (2 Chronicles 20:22 NKJV) So, what’s happening, not only on a Sunday morning when you and I are singing? So, we put our foot in Sound and Song. The Lord is destroying the enemy. So, we understand the principle, but God is talking about covenant to you and me this morning.
Then I want you to go to Genesis 24 with me this morning. Now, I need to say this to you. This is where the Lord showed me these things about covenant many, many years ago. You know, I’ve shared this with Grobbies, even before Pastor John started to minister about covenant, I’ve always, for a long time in my life, seeking the Lord to teach me about His covenant because we have such a Western mindset. So, we will never stop learning and walking in our covenant.
Genesis 24. This is a precious passage of scripture. Here we see Abraham sending his servant to go and get Isaac a wife. “1 Now Abraham was old, and well advanced in age, and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. 2 So, Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had,” (Genesis 24:1-2 NKJV) I’m not going to talk about this morning, but the Bible has a lot to say about this faithful servant. We will talk about that again.
2…Abraham said to him, “Please put your hand under my thigh 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell.” (Genesis 24:2-3 NKJV). Verse four. 4 But you will go, my servant, to my country and to my family and take a wife for my son Isaac” (Genesis 24:4 NKJV) there. Now we see this faithful servant in action, but God actually had to show me the operation of covenant here that I was not aware of. Let’s read from verse 10. 10 “Then the servant took 10 of his master’s camels and departed for all…” And listen to just how faithful this servant is. “For all his master’s goods were in his hand.” This is powerful. “And he arose and he went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor and he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time” (Genesis 24:10-11 NKJV). Guys, this is this is a very important thing, an assignment that he must do here. He’s not taking this lightly. Abram made him swear. You do this thing and he’s taking it seriously before the Lord.
Look at verse 12. “Then he…”, the servant, says, “Oh, Lord of my master, Abraham, please give me success this day and show kindness” (Genesis 24:12 NKJV). That’s not the right translation. Show me, hesed. So, what was this servant saying? It’s not kindness. He prayed, Lord, perform now the obligation rights of your covenant to Abram. This is huge. He knew covenant, he knew hesed he knew that if he’s asking God this now, it’s not a maybe Lord, Covenant partner of Abraham. You must do this. You must do this. Show me success and show me kindness. Well, once again, kindness is part of it, mercy and love. But he was he was speaking and demanding the action of the Covenant to be fulfilled. Verse 13, 13 “Behold, here I stand at the well of water and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water.” (Genesis 24:13 NKJV).
Verse 14. He made a very specific covenant request. Now let it be. 14 Now let it be that when the young woman to whom I say, “Please let down your pitcher that I may drink,” and she says, “Drink,” that it will be so. And then at the end of verse 14, he says, 14 And by this I will know that you have shown kindness. (Genesis 24:13-14 NKJV)
He is not like Pastor Sharon said this morning, he is not pleading for kindness. Kindness is hesed. He said, “Lord, show me that you are performing the covenant rights by doing this.” Wow. Wow. So, this is changing everything for us to understand. I want to ask you this morning because the Lord, we are advancing with the Lord. Do you speak covenant? Is this really something that you understand or need to study? Be in the Word of God for yourself to understand the rights that you have in the covenant, your covenant, blood covenant with God. I mean, he had to do a very important task, and he said, “Lord, fulfil your promises to my master.
Verse 26 is beautiful. He does not stop talking about covenant now. The Lord did what he asked, even exactly. Verse 26. 26 Then the man bowed down his head and worshipped the Lord. Verse 27, 27 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy. (Genesis 24:26-27 NKJV) That word mercy is, hesed, Once again, you did not stop and not do and perform your promises. You were acting out the very covenant, thank You, Lord. I praise the Lord this morning. You have not forsaken performing Your covenant rights to me and Your truth towards my master.
So, as I’ve said in the beginning, this is very important for all of us. Remember, a blood covenant, our covenant with God is a relationship. It’s a relationship with blood and words, agreements, and very specific things that are coming from the Lord.
Pastor John shared with us last week; that I can always say with confidence that the church is the place that God has got a covenant with us as a people. Very, important to be planted. Pastor John continued. He said; it’s not about buildings. It’s not about events. Listen, very carefully. But it’s about the many relationships that God can use to reflect Christ. Covenant can only unfold in a relationship. You don’t make covenant with yourself, covenant is a relationship.
Guys, can you put that picture for us on the board? Thank you. It’s behind me. Some of the verses that I was looking for are behind me. I’ve asked them to do this for us. This powerful revelation that the Lord gave Pastor John.
When the Lord gave it to Pastor John, this is the absolute picture and the path of covenant relationships. So, please go to Genesis 12. We’re going to walk through that today. So, the first thing that before I start to read Genesis 12, verse one, the first thing that I want you to see when we are born again, we are immediately part of the covenant of God. But we don’t know His word that much. We are only starting out, but we are in the covenant of God. But we’ve got to grow up. We’ve got to come up into the ways of the Lord. We will progress in our covenant relationship with the Lord, that cannot be when you are not planted. Very, very important.
Genesis 12, verse one from the New King James. Now, this is very important. This is the very first time God is speaking to Abram. Abram did not start to speak to God, he did not know God. So, this is important. This is touch. Look at verse one. 1 Now the Lord had said to Abram:… and I know I’m doing this on purpose. Did Abram say to God? “No, no. It’s the first time he’s heard God.” But we need to understand, God made the covenant with us. God and Jesus with One another. But He came to us. He rescued us. It’s not us. It’s not you. It’s not me. It’s Jesus. Very important.
“¹ Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.” (Genesis 12:1 NKJV) Touch is very important. Be planted in this house. In our days, I’m going to show Abram’s journey alongside our journey. Immediately in touch, the Lord said, “Abram, you’re not in the right place. Move.” For all of us here today, we were not in the right place at some stage. He said, “No, I’m planting you here. You’ve got to move. Abram, you move. Believers, you do as I lead you.”
Look at verse two. Again, not Abram talking. God says, “² I will make you a great nation; I will bless you… (Genesis 12:2 NKJV) Remember, a covenant has blood and words. It’s not Abram’s words. It’s very important that you and me know what are the words in our covenant and the message words that God keeps talking to us. Very important. “² I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; Verse three, “³ I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse…” (Genesis 12:3 NKJV) God is busy here with speaking words. “I will, I will, I will.”
God initiated this relationship and the relationship has different phases. We’re going to talk about them today. Oh, verse four is amazing. Verse four is beautiful. “⁴ So Abram departed, – integration of ways started. So, if God is talking to Abram and he’s not obeying, do you think you can go from touch to integration of ways? No. No. And that’s exactly the same way in our life. God speaks and then we’ve got to move. So, integration of ways started. “⁴…Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him… (Genesis 12:4 NKJV). Just in a lighter way, and some people may say, “It caused him a lot of trouble,” but that’s all I will say.
So, touch – integration of ways, started. Now we’re going to see in Abram’s journey, exactly like in our day; strategic intentions are coming. Please, let’s jump over to Genesis 15, verse one. Pastor John ministered about Genesis 15. I think it was in 2019 and it absolutely changed my life regarding covenant. So, touch happened. “Abram, you cannot stay here anymore. Move.” Abram believed God and he obeyed God. Integration of ways is now happening. Let’s look at verse 15, verse one. 1 After these things, the word of the Lord, it keeps on coming to Abram. Now, 1 After these things, what does that mean? I just wrote down which things. Number one, 1 After these things, now Abram is in motion. Me and you are in this covenant relationship with the Lord and some of us find ourselves at different stages. For Abram, which things? He started with touch.
Number two, integration of ways. Abram did leave his old place to go where God was leading him. You cannot say that you are integrating with God and you stay in the old place and not obeying Him. Very, very important for us to understand. So, things after these things, things are moving forward. Look at verse two, 2 But oh, no let me finish verse one, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” So, God touched us. God planted us. We are integrating ways with God and His messages are coming and His messages are coming. So, questions from our hearts will come and it must because this is a relationship; God talks to us, we talk to the Lord.
Look at verse two; 2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will you give me seeing I do not have a child?” (Genesis 15:2 NKJV) And now this is very, very important. This question, “What will you give me?” This is in all of your hearts, in my heart.
So, the first strategic question, the closer you get to God because of touch and integration of ways, the more strategic your relationship will get; but it’s not the same as touch. Many things are happening at integration of ways. I don’t want to jump ahead of myself. No, let me jump a little bit ahead of myself. Thank You, Holy Spirit.
Divorce is always happening at stage number two. If you do not want to integrate ways, divorce happens at that stage. Why? That is normally where people walk away. Why? They do not want to submit. “Lord, I’m not going to integrate ways with You. I’m not going to listen to You. Your messages can come.”
So, Abram might have said to the Lord; “Why must I leave this place and go to that place?” This is the place in a natural marriage. If two people cannot integrate ways, we see divorce happening there. That’s normally where people are walking away for one reason; they want to do their own thing. That is what we see.
So, back to verse six. Now let me go back to verse four. Thank you, guys. You are wonderful. And when Abram asked that strategic question to the Lord; “Lord, I do not have children.” Look at verse four 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, just like in our case, the Word of the Lord came to Abram. The messages; the Word of the Lord is coming to you and me Sunday after Sunday after Sunday to answer strategic questions.
Verse four is very important. Verse four is very important. Now God makes strategic intentions clear. He’s got direction for Abram, but now He goes to the specifics. “No, Abram, this servant in your house will not be your inheritance and will not receive your inheritance.” God’s very specific, like He is in the messages with us. He said, “No,” one coming from your own body will be your heir (Genesis 15:4 NKJV) and will be your descendant. Where did God start with us? God gives very specifics. God said to all of us, He said to us, “Be planted with these people. Listen to these messages. Exchange with Me. Give your holy holidays to Me.” One after the other specifics in this covenant. There’s blood and there are words. The words in the messages are coming, are coming. God is talking to us about covenant.
Verse six, and Abram believed God and we are believing God. And therefore, just as Abram not works, it’s been accounted to us for righteousness. (Genesis 15:6 NKJV) Then I want to jump to verse eight. Pastor John already ministered about this in 2019, and it caused a profound shift in my understanding of covenant, especially because the Lord gave Pastor John this revelation [Pastor Christi referring to the slide on the screen]. You start out as a baby Christian. You grow, but things are going to become strategic. God is going to tell you why and He’s going to tell you more, more are to come.
Look at verse eight. Even after God gave the first specific, “You will have your own son.” Abram said, “Lord, how shall I know I will inherit this?” More strategic questions about your business. More strategic questions about your gift and your assignment. All the areas of your life. Now, on this level, from verse eight, going forward, we see God is cutting covenant with Abram. Now, on this level, God is cutting covenant with Abram to go into divine productivity. You see, you don’t jump from touch to divine productivity. Going into divine productivity God will show you those things to come only through covenant. You cannot, not, walk in covenant with God and think He’s going to answer your strategic questions. And think God is going to show you why God designed you to be planted here. Bring your gift, you and me called to our Lord Jesus and to Pastor John. Why? Where do you fit in? All of us are now coming and bringing our gifts and we have these questions. God says, “I will answer them through covenant.”
You cannot get the answers at number five if you do not come this way. Do you know how many believers in the body of Christ want such strategic answers for their life but they do not come through touch? They do not want to integrate ways; “Don’t you tell me what to do.” So, they never get to strategic intentions; “Why did You put us together? Why Your plan like that?” Never mind divine productivity, but they want to tell people they are in covenant. They walk in covenant as if God is showing them through covenant. You have to come this way. You have to come this way in relationship, otherwise, there is nothing.
So, we see from verse nine God is telling him, 9 … “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat (Genesis 15:9 NKJV). Now God is cutting covenant with Abraham. There is blood and there are words. There is agreement. It is hesed. God says, “These obligations are standing between you and Me and I am a faithful God. I’m a faithful God.” So, verse 18 says, 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 (Genesis 15:18 NKJV).
I wrote down here, many people ask very strategic questions, but they are still only at touch. You cannot jump from touch. You grow in each level. You develop. You have to be faithful. God is performing His covenant, all His blessings and obligations towards you, but you cannot jump. Hallelujah.
In the third covenant message that Pastor John shared with us about his own journey, listen to this. Pastor John said, when God called me to Brother Jerry, God knew the extent of the runway that would be our relationship from touch to divine productivity, walking in covenant. That is the runway. You cannot skip one of those steps to say, “Lord, I jump over this one and just say I’m in covenant like this.”
That’s your development. That’s the runway for every single one of us. We’ve got to develop. We’ve got to be faithful. This is us. Pastor John says, my business was to stay connected to Brother Jerry so that I could do the whole runway with him. How many people walk away? How many people walk away somewhere? Like I said, mostly with point number two, integration of ways. They will not lay down their life. They will not lay down their will. I will keep functioning at number two and they do not walk out the runway that God has for them. Integration of ways is very important.
Integration of ways with God’s Word. Number one, His ways, integration of ways with the divine alignments that God has now brought into your life, not for you to be isolated because isolation is violation. You cannot keep your gift outside somewhere, not coming in, not doing your part. This is the runway that God’s got for us. You cannot walk away from where and with whom God has planted you. It’s all about planted. Then Pastor John said this. I mean, the morning when I sat there, I heard Pastor John, I mean, we heard the Holy Spirit. Pastor John said, “Right here… he says, I’m talking about covenant. I’m talking about covenant here. When God called Brother Jerry to Brother Copeland, at first it was all about rescuing Brother Jerry from himself. What do you think touch and integration of ways is?
Oh, boy, God has rescued me. I know He has rescued you. That’s exactly at in the beginning from ourselves. God is saving ourselves. You know a bit about my story – planted what? I’ll go to church and humour God a little bit. I’ve got all the books. I can listen to all these powerful teachers. That’s exactly the case – to rescue us from ourselves. Pastor John said, from all your bad habits. I wrote down here, that is all of us in the first two stages.
Of course, it continues, but especially there. And then I said to the Lord, I smiled. How can I say it in the nicest way this morning? When God is planting you and you still have to learn, shut up and listen. And listen, I am saying it with a smile, you know, if God said it to me, I can say it to you. This is really the case. God gave gifts unto gifts. God placed the anointing on Pastor John and Sharon, not on us. We need it to be rescued, to grow and to learn. So, guys, this is an ongoing story for us. Touch, integration with God’s ways. God’s taking us higher., then we have to integrate more. The more we integrate with His plans, His words, strategic intentions. Let me tell you why I brought you here, let me tell you more about your assignment, your business going forward. We do not have that anointing. That anointing is on Pastor John and Sharon. They are bringing the words to us. Covenant, God keeps on putting the covenant words Sunday after Sunday, prayer connect and in between, we receive it all from the Lord. God’s gifts unto gifts.
Pastor John continued to say, God sent Brother Copeland to save Brother Jerry. God sent Pastor John to save every single one of us. That’s God’s plan. God sent the Apostle Paul to save the people in Corinth. How could he do that? By the Word of God, by the Word of God, so that they could be touched, integrate with the ways of God, receive strategic intentions going forward. So, thank You, Lord. Pastor John said, why all of this? To put Brother Jerry in the right place of setting him up so that he could pursue his destiny. If you do not come this way, no destiny. That’s the pathway for divine covenant relationships. Many believers out there are without that. They like a very nice touch but that is really where most Christians are staying, because keep it simple, I want to stay comfortable. I do not want to integrate ways with God because Jesus says, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and you don’t do what I say?” That’s very important. Pastor John continued, if God had not connected Brother Jerry with Brother Copeland, Brother Jerry might have lost his entire inheritance. I know you are hearing the Lord this morning. God saved us. God saved us. When Brother Jerry joined with Brother Copeland, everything that God had called Brother Copeland to, became accessible to Brother Jerry.
This is us because God planted us with Pastor John. Everything that God called Pastor John to is now accessible to all of us. How? In covenant relationship we grow, in covenant relationship, we go. This is God’s plan for us. Brother Copeland’s connection to Oral Roberts became accessible to Brother Jerry. God positioned him like that like God is positioning you and me right now.
We’re going to talk about the vision that God gave Pastor John. If Oral Roberts never had a vision that God had called him to, then Kenneth Copeland could not enter the vision. Oral Roberts had a vision and the vision created space for Brother Copeland. God gave Pastor John this great vision. And on this day, now for since Pastor John spoke about it, it’s making space for everyone in this auditorium today, called to Pastor John. God made space for us. God knew the runway for our lives would look like this. This is God’s plan. God says, “Abram, I will, I will, I will.” God is coming to you and me in all the messages and now He says, “I will, I will.” This is what I’m bringing to you. Brother Jerry gets rescued like we are being rescued. And Brother Jerry had access to everything that’s in Oral Roberts and in Kenneth Copeland because Kenneth Copeland had a vision. So, just to end with this part, to go into the last part of what God gave me.
This is so important, we know it, but we should be talking about this again and again. Satan will try to stop these relationships. He will. He will. We have to like Abram say, “Yes,” to the Lord and we’ve got to grow up. We’ve got to lay down our self-will, we’re going to see that in the last part today. Pastor John said this. Keep walking in the Covenant of preordained, predestined relationships. I grew up in the Free State. I did not see Witbank. Some of you grew up in Witbank, many Jo’burg, Pretoria and other places. Listen again, to what the Lord says. He brought us here. He planted us here. Keep walking in the Covenant of preordained, predestined relationships. It’s His plan. It was not Abram’s plan. It was not Abram’s idea. He had to leave that family place. Many of us have to leave. Still have to leave certain places because it’s God’s predestined place of relationships.
These two last points and I will repeat them. Holy Spirit, my ears are hearing it again and you are hearing it. Why? Why? Why? Why? Because that’s where the blessing is. The blessing is not you all by yourself. That’s where the blessing is and that is where God answers everything for you. When those strategic questions are coming, “What will You give me, Lord? How will I know that I will inherit this?” “I will show you through Covenant.” How many Christians are trying to get these answers all by themselves? It’s not the way God designed it to be.
I’m going to end and go a bit deeper here because God is talking to you and me and God is talking to this Ecclesia, this morning. There are words in a Covenant and I’ve said it and I will say it again. It’s God’s words. He brought the Covenant to us, rescued our lives
Those words indicate His plan. Not my plan, not your plan. His plans. So, what if we disobey God’s Word? What if? And we choose to do our own thing? Please, go to Genesis 15. And I’ll remind you very quickly when we read Genesis 15 verse four, God said plainly to Abram and Sarah. God says plainly in every Sunday message. He speaks plainly, like Pastor Sharon said many times, He’s a straight talker. There was no confusion in the plans and in what God brought to Abram. God plainly said to Abram and Sarah, 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” (Genesis 15:4 NKJV).
Look at Genesis 16 verse two. Look at this. God spoke. God spoke. It’s clear in the covenant. God is speaking to you and me Sunday after Sunday, He’s bringing His plan to us. 2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go into my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai (Genesis 16:2 NKJV). So, God spoke. There was no doubt, only unbelief and of course, self-performance.
Ishmael was born. Ishmael was born. Ishmael represents the work of the flesh, performance and depending on myself. God bringing us His covenant promises in this church, “I don’t think it’s going to be so. It’s taking too long. Maybe I’m missing a few words, Sunday from Sunday.” Isaac represents obedience to the words God is bringing.
So, this is very interesting. I’m going to take you to the New Testament to Galatians 4. Listen very carefully. This is how the Lord gave it to me from the beginning to the end. What happened to Abram there, God brings it right into the New Testament for you and me not to make that mistake. This is where God wants our ears to hear and our hearts to understand that every Christian has this runway and these relationships on assignment to walk out.
Galatians 4 verse 21 21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh. They wanted to decide. They wanted to go. They wanted to do what they wanted to do. That was an Ishmael that came forth. The works of the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic for us today. That’s why God is bringing this story right here into the New Testament. They are symbolic for you and me. Now, listen very plainly in the word of God, For these are the two covenants, meaning choose. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage. (Galatians 4:21-24 NKJV) So, we are talking about covenant, Ishmael was born according to the flesh, self-will, Isaac through the promises that God is bringing you and me.
Pastor John shared with us the church being a commodity, a commodity, the church not being a covenant church. Believers trade and exchange with the enemy. Do what they want to do and not God. This is what Pastor John said in the third covenant message and I’m going into the heart of the matter. Pastor John says, “I want to tell you that I’m acutely aware, I’m aware of the time and the season that we live in spiritually and what God is doing supernaturally among us.” Did the Holy Spirit say to Pastor John what God is doing naturally among us, in the natural? Choose what you want in the natural. No, he says, “I’m convinced what God is doing supernaturally among us.”
Let’s continue in Galatians 4, we jump to verse 24. I already said these things are symbolic for us today. 24 …For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— But, verse 26, 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written: And now we’ve got to listen. What is it saying? “Rejoice, O barren, the one that will receive the promise. Rejoice, O barren, You who do not bear! Break forth and shout, You who are not in labor! For the desolate has many more children Than she who has a husband.” (Galatians 4:24-27 NKJV) What is this talking about? It’s talking about the supernatural. The supernatural, the promise, the one God is giving, not the Ishmael you are planning, the Ishmael you are building, the ones that you think you want and do. It is the supernatural.
We are children of the supernatural. We choose as we receive the covenant words from God in every message that’s coming to us. Those are the promises. We have the blood of Jesus and we have the words of Jesus. It’s about the supernatural, not the natural. Pastor John said last week, we are firmly in the sweet spot of God, where God wants us to be as a church. And Prayer Connect, what did the Holy Spirit announce? Things will happen for us supernaturally. We will bypass the chaos and the disorder. Supernaturally, we will increase. How? If we believe the words that God is bringing to us in this house. This is what God wants us to know. We cannot continue in our own houses. We cannot do this in this house. We have to stand before God with the blood of Jesus. And as said is there for all of us. “Lord, You have to do this, Lord. Everywhere we look, blessings, Lord. Do it now, Lord. Do it now. Perform Your covenant.” But it must be His words and not your own words.
What was God saying to us last week? Revelations 4, God says, “Come.” He says, “Come.” He doesn’t say, “Go and do your own thing.” “Come. Come up here. Come to Me and I will show you the things.” This is what God is saying to all of us. And here comes our last instruction for the morning. Galatians 4, verse 28. 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. Planted. We have God’s runway. We’ve got God’s plan, planted with Jesus, called to Pastor John to walk out the plan that God’s got for you and me before the foundation of the world. We are children of the promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. Verse 30 is very important. 30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son… (Galatians 4:28-30 NKJV) All the decisions have been made in the flesh. I still believe in this church since God started to talk to us about, I Will Take the Children. That God, as He’s bringing us His Words, His promises that we have to repent.
God says the number 24, the number 24. We cry out, “Lord, divine order. Divine order.” Divine order can come if we cast out the bondwoman in our own houses, in our own choosing, our own plans. We have to recognise what’s happening in our own house, and in this house, this ecclesia, we listen to the Word of God, and we do not make our own plans. Do you remember Pastor John asking one of those messages, powerful messages, it’s something that we actually talk a lot about. It is just an example that you can clearly see how this works. How did you get the car? How did you get the house? How did that business thing start? Did God initiate it, like Isaac or is it your plans like Ishmael?
You know, the Lord said to me, “Christi, you have to take a closer look at all areas of your life.” Can you tell me if I look at everything in my life that God initiated that or were those the plans that I thought best? God is asking us that question today and we’ve got to answer the Lord. We’ve got to answer the Lord. We must recognize what’s happening in the house of the Lord. This is still at the end and I want to finish with this. I am very grateful for that today.
We are still in reset. That’s why I say, “My covenant cry before the Lord is, Lord, thank You for Your words coming to me. Thank You that I can see where I made my own plans. That I can repent, Lord, because You’re taking us higher.” There’s more. There’s the greater. So, it is the time still of reset and we are still crossing over. We have to keep on repenting. Like I’ve already said, “Number twenty-four – is God not talking to us?”
Lord, we cry out divine order, perfection, and the thoroughness of Your Word working in our lives. How can we do this? Number one, we have to believe like Abraham the words that God is saying. This is our last scripture. How will you and me do this? Hebrews 10, verses 16 to 17 today. Oh, this is powerful. This is powerful. This should be my and your heart before the Lord. God says, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their hearts, and in their minds, I will write them,” 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:16-17 NKJV)
With every message, the written Word of God, Pastor Sharon explained it to us very beautifully. The written Word of God. Every message, the prophetic word, what God is showing you. This is what God is giving us. He’s writing on our hearts. He’s giving it to us step by step, taking us higher and higher. This is our covenant with God. By the blood of Jesus Christ, we are redeemed and we have His words. We have His words. And that’s our choice from here on what we’re going to do with that.
Like Abram and Sarah, they heard what God said. You can ignore that. You can chase. You can go for self-performance to make things happen for you, or you can turn it around and say, “No, I want the promises of God.” Praise the Lord.
Ushers, can we take up an offering, please? As the ushers are coming around, “Lord, we say hesed said today.” That’s what we come with our hearts to say, “Lord, we believe. We say, “Yes to Your word.” So, we say, “Do it, Lord. Do it, Lord.” Everywhere we look over the top blessings. You are our Covenant partner. You are faithful. But we want to say to You today, “We choose to be faithful” in the Name of Jesus. Hallelujah.
So, as you as you sow today, as you sit there today, it’s your choice in your heart how you are responding to your faithful Covenant partner. Our Lord Jesus, the covenant is between our Father and our Lord Jesus. That’s why no one can break it. It’s our eternal, everlasting covenant, and it takes faith from you and me to walk it out.
Praise the Lord, we are blessed to be a blessing and we come by faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. What hope for? The promises of the Covenant. And this is… thank you, Ushers, you can you can come forward. All the promises through Abraham, all the promises in our messages, and that’s why you hear me talk a lot this morning, but this is so big in my heart. Many other scriptures as well. But what is part of our covenant? The blood and words today.
Will you please stretch out your hands with me as we lift up this offering? Father, the words that You gave us in this covenant and the words that we have now, all Your promises from Abraham right through every message – all of them are happening to us at once. And Lord, You have promised this is exactly where we are in my life and your life. God is making everything right. And we say, Amen. Thank you, Gideon.
You know, it is all the promises from 2014 to 2024. Over the top blessings. Things are happening so fast. All the goodness of God, one thing right after the other. This is exactly what we say, “Lord, do it. Bring it on. Bring it on.” This is wonderful. And I just want to make this last point. It is so precious to me. I know in my life and I know about many of your lives. But God says, “I’m making things right for My people.” We can count on that. We can believe God for that. That is hesed today, “Lord. Do it, Lord. Do it.”
Well, just before I tell you, I’ll see you at five o’clock. Praise the Lord. Announcements. When you’re going to go out right now, all of you are going to receive this pamphlet. So, please, it’s always very handy. We will send you the SMS. It is this little flyer with all the special dates for 2024 and even the start of next year, 2025. The first thing that you will see for this year is we’re going to have a Bible graduation on the 22nd of November. Oh, it’s going to be most wonderful. Just before that, on that Thursday, Pastor Josh and Illiana from America are arriving. So, we will have a whole weekend of special meetings. So, Pastor Josh and Illiana, very special friends of Pastor John. We’re not going to miss out on a thing. So, please be mindful to take one of these as you go out. I bless you with a wonderful, healthy lunch in the Name of Jesus. And I’ll see you at five o’clock. Bye-bye, everyone.
© 2024 – Heritage of Faith Ministries International
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