Understanding Covenant, pt3
Leadership in Context with Keith Tucci
Episode 121
COVENANT FOUNDATION #1: COVENANT DEMANDS SACRIFICE
COVENANT FOUNDATION #2: COVENANT IS INTENTIONAL
COVENANT KEY #1: WE ARE NOT SERVING OURSELVES
1 Peter 1:10-13
As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look. Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
First, they had a revelation that they were not serving themselves. Right after that, it says, “…but you…” In other words, these men and women who went before us and sacrificed so much for the gospel--it was for us.
In the natural, there are those of us whose grandparents, even with very little revelation of spiritual things, sacrificed and did much for you. There were soldiers who bled and died and gave themselves for us.
There is a stewardship that was given, and we need to own that stewardship.
COVENANT KEY #2: A COVENANT HEART HONORS THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE
What is honor? Scripture says to honor your parents in the Lord. That doesn’t mean your parents did everything right or that you had to agree with them or that they always had the right motives or knew what to do.
Honor can pull a thread of redemption from a sweater of hurt.
Honor doesn’t say that everything was perfect and that everything was right. But honor does not contaminate the things that were done right. Most everyone that we see in Scripture that we hold to a high standard and we preach about did some pretty messed up things. But we still honor what they did right.
I have as many history books in my library as I do theology. My worldview says that history is His-story. History talks a lot about man being willing to be the “but you.”--people being willing to take stewardship, even if other people dropped the ball. History of the Church, the nations, mankind really is a story of men who did and did not keep their covenants with God and each other.
God is calling us to understand that we have to build on the people who went before us. We don’t always have to be starting from the beginning. A heart of covenant honors those who have gone before us. Sometimes we know them, and sometimes we don’t. There are people in your life who have made a serious spiritual investment that you are receiving the benefit of. How do you honor that? You live it out. You pick up the same intensity that they had and pass that understanding, lifestyle, conviction, theology, covenantal living on.
Join us next week as Keith Tucci continues to put leadership truth in the context of the local church. And as always, please like, share, rate/review, and invite others to listen. See you next week!
