David and the Covenant: Lessons in Faith

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Good morning. Praise the Lord. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Welcome to Victorious Faith. I’m Cherri Campbell. This morning I’m going to continue sharing with you the message I began sharing with you last week. That is message number four, the final message in a series of messages that I preached in our Victorious Faith services called What Made David a Man After God’s Own Heart. So join me now in our live service for the continuation of this message number four, What Made David a Man After God’s Own Heart. The covenant becomes an anchor for the soul, for your mind to be anchored, your heart to be anchored, your faith to be anchored. Hebrews 6, let me start in verse 12. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, I will surely bless you. And give you many descendants. And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. Men swear by someone greater than themselves and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. You can even say puts an end to all doubt. Verse 17, because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear. You can even say his promise, the unchanging nature of his promise, very clear to the heirs of what was promised. He confirmed it with an oath. That’s his word. His word is his oath. God did this so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, two unchangeable things. So many people have speculated what those two unchangeable things are, the word and the spirit. Some said, I believe I am convinced I know what it is. It’s the communion elements. It’s the covenant elements. It’s the blood and the body. That is always what has been what confirms an oath throughout all of history and the Old Testament. When they made oaths, covenant promises, it was confirmed with bread and wine, a covenant meal. That sealed the covenant. And so God made a covenant. He said, I’m giving you my word, but I’m not just giving you my word. I’m sealing it. With the covenant elements, blood and bread, the body and blood of Jesus seals God’s oath. So that by two unchangeable things, the covenant meal, the bread and the juice representing the blood and the body, the body and the blood. of Jesus Christ by these two things in which it is impossible for God to lie. We, we, it’s for our sake. We who have fled to take hold of the hope of offered to us may be greatly encouraged. Why did he do it? So that our hope can be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. We have this covenant meal, the bread and the juice as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It will anchor your soul. So many times since I studied for 30 days meditating on the blood covenant, month of january 1996 since then i sit down with the blood the bread i mean and the juice the covenant meal god’s word and god’s promises in front of me of what i am believing for i especially do it when things really are looking impossible when things are really looking difficult and i’m my faith has stretched like an elastic rubber band to the point where it’s about to snap I have stretched my faith. I have believed God as far and as hard as I can believe God. And I’ve got to have a breakthrough. I go to the promise. I set it out with the bread and the juice. And I say, God, you said in your word, you meet my needs, you heal my body, you guide me, whatever it was. And now I’m standing on your word. It’s not so that God doesn’t shake. He doesn’t ever shake. He doesn’t need to be reminded. We need to be strengthened so that we are encouraged, so that we have this strength. We have this anchor. And I go to it and I say, God, I’m standing on your word and I’m taking this bread and this juice right now by faith. And I believe I receive your promises coming to pass in my life in Jesus name. And I drink that cup and I eat that bread. And, you know, so many times that I have done that, especially when I’ve done it at the point of sinning the end. I need a miracle. The miracle came right after that. Within days, miracles came, breakthroughs came again and again and again. And so the covenant is our foundation. But this covenant and this blood enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. And we read that part in our offering. But that covenant, that body and the blood of Jesus has gone into the throne room to be our anchor and to intercede for us. before the throne of God. That is covenant. God has made several covenants. God made a covenant with Noah that he would never send a flood again. But God made a covenant with Abram, who became Abraham, that his seed would fill the earth and that through his seed, God would redeem mankind. But then God made a covenant with David. And as a young man, I believe very confidently, even while he tended his father’s sheep, as he was a shepherd boy, he was meditating on the covenant because he spoke referring to the covenant when he talked to King Saul about facing Goliath. Now, circumcision was the sign of the covenant God gave to Abraham. So circumcision was the sign in the flesh of the covenant with God. And in 1 Samuel 17, 26. This is when Goliath was taunting Israel. And the men of Israel were shaking in their boots and hiding. And David asked the men standing near him, What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine? Right there, David is referring to a man without a covenant. That man does not have a covenant with God, and I do. I’m circumcised. He’s not. I have a blood covenant with God. He doesn’t. Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God? So he stood on that covenant when he faced Goliath. He was saying, that man is uncircumcised. I’m circumcised. I win. Then go down to verses 34 and 37. He went and spoke to Saul. David said to Saul, your servant has killed both the lion and the bear. So notice he’s going back to his shepherding days when he was also standing on the covenant when he faced the lion, when he faced the bear. And again, he says this uncircumcised Philistine, he’s bringing covenant into this. saying, that man, Goliath, does not have a covenant. I do. I am circumcised. He’s not. I have a covenant with God. And he drew on that covenant. The covenant is what gave him the boldness. I believe the phrase, the words, uncircumcised Philistine, it declares why David had boldness and courage. Because he had the covenant. He had the circumcision, which was the seal and the sign. He said, I am circumcised. I have a covenant with God. That man is not. He does not. That means I win. It doesn’t matter how big he is. I win because God is on my side. Well, you can say that about whatever circumstance you’re in. It doesn’t matter how big your problem is. It doesn’t matter how big the debt is. It doesn’t matter how big the sickness is. It doesn’t matter how big the situation is. If you have a covenant with God, God’s on your side, and that means you win every time. Praise the Lord. And so he said, this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, the lion and the bear, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. He didn’t say he might deliver me. I hope he will. He says he will. Why? Because I have covenant. He was standing on the covenant. God spoke in Psalm 89, verses 3 and 4, I have made a covenant with my chosen one. I have sworn to David, my servant, I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations. I mean, God wouldn’t have done that if he wasn’t pleased with David. But he was pleased. And so he made a covenant with David that his line would be established forever and his throne would be firm through all generations. And again, in the same Psalm 89, in verses 20, 21, and 24, 28, 29, I have found David my servant. With my sacred oil, I’ve anointed him. My hand will sustain him. Surely my arm will strengthen him. But guess what? If you have a covenant with God, you can put your name in there. God will sustain you. God will strengthen you. Verse 24, my faithful love will be with him. God’s faithful love will be with you if you know your covenant and stand on it. Now, God’s never going to change, but we receive all the provisions of the covenant by faith. Nothing automatically happens. That’s why bad things happen to good Christians. Because they are not taking hold of the provisions of the covenant. They’re not taking possession. They’re available, but you’ve got to take them by your faith. So he said, my faithful love will be with him. Through my name his horn will be exalted. Verse 28, I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail. I will establish his line forever, his stone as long as the heavens endure. And then we read in 2 Samuel 7, this is David’s prayer to God. 2 Samuel 7, 20. What more can David say to you? David’s saying this. He’s praying. For you know your servant, O sovereign Lord. And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised. You see, you can hold God responsible for his covenant promises when you know your covenant. You see, covenant gives you boldness. That’s why he had boldness to face Goliath. But he also had boldness to face God because of his covenant. Now hold to your promise. What you just heard was the continuation of message number four, the final message in a series of messages that I preached in our victorious faith services called What Made David a Man After God’s Own Heart. And we will continue this message again tomorrow. So join me again tomorrow. And remember, God loves you. You are blessed and highly favored by the Lord.