Thank you father because you are a good father. You are also big. You are bigger than we think you are. You are also interested in us. Your love for us is beyond reasoning. Above all, you just never fail. You are our anchor, you love us despite our limitations as human. We are here to learn from you, we receive insight into your Word in Jesus name.
Tonight is an introduction into our covenant of protection which we will be diving into this coming week. This group is set up for us to remind ourselves of our covenant of protection.
HEB 2:1 So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.
Tonight, I want to discuss an important thing about the Bible. A covenant is an agreement between 2 people. For a covenant to work, the 2 people must agree on their rights and responsibilities and we know the Bible is a book of covenant. The Bible is filled with rights and responsibilities.
Our rights and God's rights: this is one of the reasons God will not force us to be born again. It is why He will say, I stand at the door and knock because He has created us to not be robots but people with rights and frame of mind. It is why he will ask a man, what do you want me to do for you even though He could see the man was blind. The man has a right to say I don’t want to be healed. There is also the rights of God. There was a time the people asked Jesus a question about when the Kingdom will be restored back to Israel and Jesus said: It is not within your rights to know, that is in the Father's discretion (Act 1:7).
OUR RESPONSIBILITY & GOD'S RESPONSIBILITY: this is a big part of what we will be discussing this week. The Bible contains God's responsibilities and our responsibilities. Please keep this in a hidden place in your heart and never forget it. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF GOD TO KEEP YOU! I will repeat it: IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF GOD TO KEEP YOU. It is not your responsibility to protect yourself. That is why the Bible God says 'I will preserve your going out and your coming in" Ps 121:8. It is why He says the God that watches over you never sleep nor slumber yet He gives sleep to His beloved. In other words, He lets you sleep but He doesn’t sleep. Why? He is responsible for keeping you. We can NOT keep ourselves because we are very limited. For example, we don’t know the future, we have just 2 eyes, we can only be at a place at a time. All of these and many more limitations emphasize why we can't keep ourselves. He is the mountain that surround us as mountain surround Jerusalem, He is the one who gives life. YOU CAN NOT PROTECT YOURSELF OR YOUR FAMILY. I have heard parents tell children, I promise you that I will keep you safe and that always touch my heart even as I see them do everything in their power to make sure their children are safe. When I see this, I think of how God has also said I will keep your going out and your coming in. By now you must be wondering, then how come some people who believe in God or some men of faith die early or are involved in traffic accident or plane crashes? We hope to touch on this during the week. Now about our responsibilities, There is a major responsibility that Jesus really called out while He was here on earth.
Jn 6:28 The people asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?
In other words, what is our responsibility so as to fulfill the requirement of God? Please remember, the Bible is filled with RIGHTS & RESPONSIBILITIES- OUR RIGHTS & GOD'S RIGHTS; OUR RESPONSIBILITIES & GOD'S RESPONSIBILITIES. So Jesus revealed what our responsibilities are, it was something that shocked them and still shocks today. For a covenant to work, the 2 people must agree on their rights and responsibilities and we know the Bible is a book of covenant. So Jesus revealed our responsibility. He was asked what must we do and He responded:
Jn 6:29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
Mark 9:23 says "'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for one who believes."
Prov 3:5-6 says Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
I want us to pay close attention to the highlighted words in the above scriptures, we will see words like Trust, believe, lean not and He WILL. Is it not amazing that Jesus did not say your responsibility is to fast and pray, your responsibility is to stop smoking. Why? When you believe in Him, you will make other adjustments. Jesus is known for always attacking the roots of issues. When He cursed the fig tree, it dried from its root. Unbelief is a big factor that will make us to sink. One of the scriptures above says EVERYTHING is possible to them that believe. Our protection is possible when we believe. We may think what's the big deal in believing? Oh believing is a big deal. Believing is an active word. The reason the devil keeps spreading fear is because he wants to attack our believing, create doubt. One of his tactics is to ask you questions of doubt, if truly you are the son of God, why is this happening. What is he doing? Casting doubt. He has come to still kill and destroy your belief. Did God really say this? Did God really say he will protect you? How can you be sure God will protect you when he did not even protect that pastor who died in a plane crash? How can you be sure? These are questions he will throw at you to cause your heart to fear and doubt.
Feel free to share with us in the comment box how you have been building trust in God in the midst of the uncertainties around you.