The Power of Covenant

Introduction: What is a covenant? The Hebrew word translated "covenant" occurs 272 times in the Old Testament, and 33 times in the New Testament. A contract between two people or organizations is called a Berit, a "covenant." A treaty between nations is a Berit. A marriage contract is a Berit. The Constitution of the United States is a Berit. God made a diatheke, in the New Testament, New Covenant.

Hebrews 6:13 - 20 (NKJV) ¹³For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself,
¹⁴saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you."
¹⁵And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
¹⁶For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute.
¹⁷Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath,
¹⁸that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
¹⁹This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil,
²⁰where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

The covenant is the sure and steadfast anchor of the soul!

The Berit between Jonathan and David

The Process

A. The covenant instituted

1 Samuel 17:50 - 58 (NKJV) ⁵⁰So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David.
⁵¹Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it.
And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
⁵²Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron.
⁵³Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents.
⁵⁴And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
⁵⁵When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is this youth?"
And Abner said, "As your soul lives, O king, I do not know."

⁵⁶So the king said, "Inquire whose son this young man is."
⁵⁷Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.
⁵⁸And Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?"
So David answered, "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."

1 Samuel 18:1 - 4 (NKJV) ¹Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
²Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father's house anymore.
³Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.
⁴And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.

B. Who is Jonathan?

Son of King Saul, representative of Israel
In placing his armor upon David, he recognized David as an equal

C. Who is David?

The son of a shepherd – Jesse
Heir of a promise
Ruth 4:13 - 17 (NKJV) ¹³So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.
¹⁴Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel!
¹⁵And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him."
¹⁶Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him.
¹⁷Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, "There is a son born to Naomi." And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

D. The covenant ratified

1 Samuel 20:5 - 8 (NKJV) ⁵And David said to Jonathan, "Indeed tomorrow is the New Moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go, that I may hide in the field until the third day at evening.
⁶If your father misses me at all, then say, 'David earnestly asked permission of me that he might run over to Bethlehem, his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.'
⁷If he says thus: 'It is well,' your servant will be safe. But if he is very angry, be sure that evil is determined by him.
⁸Therefore you shall deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. Nevertheless, if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?"

1 Samuel 20:14 - 16 (NKJV) ¹⁴And you shall not only show me the kindness of the Lord while I still live, that I may not die;
¹⁵but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever, no, not when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth."
¹⁶So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "Let the Lord require it at the hand of David's enemies."

1 Samuel 20:41 - 42 (NKJV) ⁴¹As soon as the lad had gone, David arose from a place toward the south, fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times. And they kissed one another; and they wept together, but David more so.
⁴²Then Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, 'May the Lord be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever.'" So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.

E. A life changing experience

1 Samuel 23:14 - 18 (NKJV) ¹⁴And David stayed in strongholds in the wilderness, and remained in the mountains in the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God did not deliver him into his hand.
¹⁵So David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. And David was in the Wilderness of Ziph in a forest.
¹⁶Then Jonathan, Saul's son, arose and went to David in the woods and strengthened his hand in God.
¹⁷And he said to him, "Do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Even my father Saul knows that."
¹⁸So the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. And David stayed in the woods, and Jonathan went to his own house.

II. The New Covenant is a life changing process

As sons of Adam we served sin (Saul), but we are to change allegiances (The Son of David)
Romans 6:5 - 14 (NKJV) ⁵For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
⁶knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
⁷For he who has died has been freed from sin.
⁸Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
⁹knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.
¹⁰For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
¹¹Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
¹³And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
¹⁴For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
The covenant is to the "third generation"
2 Samuel 4:4 (NKJV) ⁴Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.
- Saul and Jonathan were killed by the Philistines
- The Philistines tried to kill all the heirs to the king
- Mephibosheth escaped
- David conquered the Philistines and became king of Israel
- Years passed
  2 Samuel 9:1 - 5 (NKJV) ¹Now David said, "Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" ²And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?"
  He said, "At your service!"
  ³Then the king said, "Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, to whom I may show the kindness of God?"
  And Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan who is lame in his feet."
  ⁴So the king said to him, "Where is he?"
  And Ziba said to the king, "Indeed he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, in Lo Debar."
  ⁵Then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo Debar.
  
  ILL: Imagine how Mephibosheth felt. He had been taught that David was his enemy. David had stolen everything that belonged to his father and his kingdom, or so he thought. He believed that David would end his life
  2 Samuel 9:6 - 13 (NKJV) ⁶Now when Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Then David said, "Mephibosheth?" And he answered, "Here is your servant!"
  ⁷So David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father's sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually."
  ⁸Then he bowed himself, and said, "What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?"
  ⁹And the king called to Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "I have given to your master's son all that belonged to Saul and to all his house.
  ¹⁰You therefore, and your sons and your servants, shall work the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest, that your master's son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth your master's son shall eat bread at my table always." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.
  ¹¹Then Ziba said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do."
  "As for Mephibosheth," said the king, "he shall eat at my table like one of the king's sons."
  ¹²Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micha. And all who dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants of Mephibosheth.
  ¹³So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king's table. And he was lame in both his feet.
- The world has been taught, as had Mephibosheth, that the Son of David, Jesus Christ, is its enemy.
- They have been told from the pulpits that Christ is going to throw them into hell
- They have been told that they have to serve sin as their lord.
  It is true that Sin has crippled their souls and hearts, but everything else is a lie of Satan!
- The New Covenant has the power of life
John 10:7 - 10 (NKJV) ⁷Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
⁸All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
⁹I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
¹⁰The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
- False ministers have told that Jesus makes people sick to "teach them a lesson" or that healing is not for today.
  1 Peter 2:23 - 24 (NKJV) ²³who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;
  ²⁴who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.
  ILL: God has not changed and there are no sick in heaven.
- 'Prosperity is not for today'
  
  3 John 1:2 - 4 (NKJV) ²Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. ³For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth.
  ⁴I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
- 'You have to work for salvation, or at least go through ritual'
  Romans 4:1 - 25 (NKJV) ¹What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? ²For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
  ³For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."
  ⁴Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
  ⁵But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,
  ⁶just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
  
  ⁷ "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
  And whose sins are covered;
  ⁸ Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin."
  ⁹Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness.
  ¹⁰How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised.
  ¹¹And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also,
  ¹²and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.
  
  ¹³For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
  ¹⁴For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise made of no effect,
  ¹⁵because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression.
  ¹⁶Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all
  ¹⁷(as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;
  ¹⁸who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be."
  
  ¹⁹And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb.
  ²⁰He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,
  ²¹and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
  ²²And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness."
  ²³Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him,
  ²⁴but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,
  ²⁵who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.