But God . . . . .!

But God

When we think of the Bible we think of it as a Book of Promises. Promises that are available to every "whosoeve" will receive. We should also think of it as a Book of Covenants. Covenant promises are made and sealed in blood.

We regard the Bible as the Word of God, printed on paper, that offers us salvation, deliverance, hope, encouragement, and healing both physical and spiritual. Its a Book of revelation, revealing the nature of God. Its a Book of love. A Book of victory, victory for every Believer.

And if there are victories there also has to be defeats. So the Bible is also a Book of defeats. Not for the Believer, but for the Devil. Sometimes we miss that point. In any battle there is a winner and if there is going to be a winner there is also going to be a loser. Whos the biggest loser of them all? The Devil. The Bible is a Book of defeats for the Devil.

Let me tell you something, if you dont get anything else out of this, remember this . . . . God always wins! Hes never lost a battle yet. Losing is not one of His attributes. If we will let Him, He will fight our battles for us. Sometimes when fighting our battles for us He is hindered by us getting in the way. We tend to think that God is sitting on the sidelines waiting for us to win the game but God doesnt sit on side lines and He doesnt play games! Besides, the battle is not ours. We can say that with authority because the fact that we dont fight our battles alone is part-and -parcel of a Covenant Relationship.

Weve talked about covenant relationships before. In a blood covenant there is at least two parties involved. One of the steps taken in a Covenant is for both parties to agree to terms and then swear an oath to that agreement. One of the things that makes a Covenant so unique is that one person promises the other to come to their defense if their help is ever needed.

Were in a covenant relationship with God through the cutting of the flesh of His only Son, Jesus. Thats what Calvary was all about. Jesus was not only the covenant sacrifice but, because He passed all the tests and didnt sin, He qualified to be your representative in the Covenant with God, the Father. When Covenant partners enter in the covenant they mix cut their wrists and mix blood. That act makes them one. We should have entered into Covenant ourselves but we couldnt because our blood is tainted with the sin of Adam. So we needed Someone who was all man but all perfect and without tainted Blood to represent us in cutting the Covenant with God. That Someone was Jesus.

So, what we have here is a Divine Covenant, and a Blood Covenant at that. God, the Father, is One of the parties in the covenant. God is always the Party of the First Part in any situation. But in this Covenant you are the other party, the party of the second part. Represented in Person by Jesus Christ, the perfect Man.

So, being in this Covenant with God, when we are attacked by the enemy (who is the enemy? The devil) . . . BY Covenant oath, God comes to our defense. Where do we get that? First of all remember that, spiritually, we are grafted-in Jews.

Galatians 3:29 says: "And if ye be Christs, then are ye Abrahams seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Best out of Living Bible) What were the Children of Israel promised in the Old Covenant? Lets just look at one promise.

Isaiah 43:1

"But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. 2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. 3 For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour"

Thats a promise under the old covenant. Today weve got a Covenant even better than that!

Under the Old Covenant sins were covered by the blood of bulls and goats. On the Day of Atonement the High Priest would sacrifice a goat and then he would take the blood and enter into the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant rested. He would sprinkle the blood on the Mercy Seat and that was to cover the sins of the whole nation for a year. But there were faults in that system. For one thing a man chose to sin but the goat that was sacrificed was just a dumb animal and he didnt choose to die for anyone’s sins. But it was the best they had at that time. Before he killed the goat the High Priest would place his hands on it and then lean heavily onto the goat. This symbolized the transference of all the sins of the whole nation. Then he killed the animal. It covered sins for a time but it didnt take away the guilt of sin.