Understanding Covenant, pt5
Leadership in Context with Keith Tucci
Episode 124
COVENANT FOUNDATION #1: COVENANT DEMANDS A SACRIFICE
COVENANT FOUNDATION #2: COVENANT IS INTENTIONAL
COVENANT KEY #1: THERE IS A REVELATION THAT WE ARE NOT SERVING OURSELVES
COVENANT KEY #2: A COVENANT HEART HONORS THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE
COVENANT KEY #3: A COVENANT PERSON UNDERSTANDS THEIR UNIQUE PLACE IN GOD’S REDEMPTIVE PLAN AND ORDER.
COVENANT KEY #4: A COVENANT HEART HONORS THEIR WORD.
A person with a covenant heart, with a covenant understanding, is someone who really sees their word as something that is very spiritual, purposeful, and reliable.
John 17:17
Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
We are sanctified in Truth. We live a sanctified life by walking in Truth. Truth is demonstrated. Truth is not abstract. Truth is absolute.
Jesus said, “My words are Truth.” We need to be people who walk in Truth and understand the reality that our words need to be true. Not only do our words need to be true, but they can be used to our advantage to help us walk in truth.
Sometimes there are things I know I need to say yes to, agree to, and commit to, and honestly, I don’t feel like it. I just don’t want to do it. Here’s where a covenant heart comes in. Rather than saying I’ll pray about something I don’t want to do (aka the charismatic version of “no”), I’ll use a covenantal understanding to my advantage. I will agree because I use my word as a stake in the ground.
Picture a mountain climber going up a cliff. They put pegs in the mountainside to go somewhere they haven’t gone before. They are using an aid. That is what we do with our word.
Give your word. Make your word so honorable that when you speak it, like a stake in the ground, you can be counted on. You agree to something, not because you might be excited about it, but because it is the right thing to do and if you give your word, you will be there.
Isn’t that a great way to use the principles of life in the most advantageous way?
Psalm 15:1-5
O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a reprobate is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; he swears to his own hurt and does not change; he does not put out his money at interest, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.
Psalm 15 is all about spiritual integrity. “…he swears to his own hurt and does not change…” The reality is, when you make a covenant, sooner or later that covenant is going to hurt you, but you honor it anyway. You honor your word. That’s why you make that promise ahead of time.
Joshua 9 is one of the best examples of that. God told them to not make a covenant to anyone, not to emotionally give their word away, because if they did, they would have to keep their word. If you make a covenant, an emotional covenant, a covenant you haven’t thought through, it is still a covenant. Your word is supposed to be the gold standard. The Gibeonites came to Joshua, dressed as if they had been traveling from afar, and asked Joshua to promise not to hurt them. Of course, they were deceiving Joshua. Isn’t it interesting that the people who wanted the favor of Joshua knew that if he gave his word to them that he would keep it. What a reputation! The promise was made, and then Joshua realized what was going on. The congregation started grumbling against their leadership because they made a bad decision. The leader’s response…
Joshua 9:19
But all the leaders said to the whole congregation, “We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them.
The leaders said that yes, they shouldn’t have made the promise, but it was made, and now they must honor their word. As a covenant person, even though you maybe should not have agreed to something, you have to honor your word.
When we make a promise, we must keep it. God keeps His promises to us. This is what covenant looks like. This is what the family of God looks like. This should be our reputation. We are a people who keep our word.
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!
