Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

A couple of weeks ago the Holy Spirit told me clear as day to talk about God’s confirmations. This morning He revealed that Confirmation’s twin is His Faithfulness. Accordingly, this week we will explore how God confirms and is faithful to what He says and promises.

Let’s begin with God’s covenant confirmation.

Today’s scripture, Psalms 105:7-11 (NLT) attests…
[7] He is the Lord our God. His justice is seen throughout the land. [8] He always stands by his covenant— the commitment he made to a thousand generations. [9] This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac. [10] He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant: [11] “I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession.”

Consider…
In today’s scripture we read God…

• Made a covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17:7-14)
• Confirmed the covenant with an oath to his son Isaac (Genesis 26:2-5)
• Confirmed the covenant and oath with a decree to Jacob (Genesis 35:10-12)

Allow me to dive just a little deeper into covenants, oaths and decrees.

First, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary a covenant is a usually formal, solemn, and binding agreement.

A few weeks ago my Pastor taught covenants are not contracts. That’s because covenants are based on mutual commitment (how will we stay together) whereas contracts are based on mutual distrust (how will we break up). His hypothesis was further proven by the fact that covenants are eternally binding whereas contracts are only temporarily enforcable.

It’s important that we understand that God makes covenants not contracts.

Next, let’s take a quick glance at oaths. Based on a Google search, an oath is a formal declaration or promise that is made in the presence of a higher power, such as God or another deity. Oaths are often used to swear in new government officials or to testify in court.

When I searched the scriptures for oaths I found Hebrews 6:13-18 (NLT) which explained…
[13] For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying: [14] “I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.” [15] Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised. [16] Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. [17] God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. [18] So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.

As I read that, I thought about people that try to emphasize they are being truthful by ‘swearing on’ someone near and dear to them like their momma, daddy or child. The only problem is feelings of endearment can change like the wind, rendering any promise of truth meaningless. However the Hebrew writer pointed out…

• Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name
• God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind
• God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie.

The Holy Spirit showed me that God first made a promise and then doubled down by swearing by Himself to keep it.

Another thing the Holy Spirit explained to me was God made the oath, which confirmed His promise, in response to Abraham keeping his part of the covenant. Recall we learned a covenant is a mutual commitment. Thus, Genesis 26:5 (NLT) is a critical part of God’s confirmation cycle. Notice God said…
[5] I will do this because Abraham listened to me and obeyed all my requirements, commands, decrees, and instructions.

This reveals, God’s confirmation cycle has a LOL (LISTENING to and OBEYING the LORD) trigger.

However, as I contemplated the LOL trigger against the backdrop of grace, the Holy Spirit reminded me that 2 Timothy 2:11-13 (NLT) teaches…
[11] This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. [12] If we endure hardship, we will reign with him. If we deny him, he will deny us. [13] If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.

God is saying if we remain committed to Him through the struggle, we will experience the victory with Him. However, notice how Paul ended verse 12…
If we deny him, he will deny us.

Talk about a sharp turn. Yet, it’s really not that sharp at all, God is really just saying that He won’t force commitment, it must be mutual.

Okay that makes sense, we miss out on the covenant if we break our commitment. However, when I read Verse 13 the Holy Spirit reveals something very important. Human beings are falable human beings and prone to unfaithfulness, whereas God is infalable and must be faithful by His nature. Therefore, He always keeps His covenant commitment regardless of us because of who He is.

Now I confess, I struggled with this verse because it felt like a Monopoly ‘Get out of jail free card’. That is until the Holy Spirit further clarified why God remains faithful to His covenant.

Recall, God’s oath to Isaac had absolutely nothing to do with Isaac. This oath was in response to the the covenant that God made with Abraham, and as a result of Abraham’s obedience, his son was able to reap the benefits.

In the same way Romans 5:19 (NIV) explains…
[19] For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

God also makes us right in His sight because of Jesus’ obedience!

Lastly, let’s look at God’s promise confirmations through His decrees.

Based on Bible Study Tools dictionary, the decrees of God are his eternal, unchangeable, holy, wise, and sovereign purpose, comprehending at once all things that ever were or will be in their causes, conditions, successions, and relations, and determining their certain futurition.

That said a lot, and left me a little confused. So I looked up the Merriam-Webster dictionary definition which defined it as an order usually having the force of law.

That definition helped me see that God’s decrees are His Yes to His promises. This makes me think of 2 Corinthians 1:20-22 (NIV), which states…
[20] For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. [21] Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, [22] set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

The Holy Spirit simply wants us to understand that because God said “Yes” with Christ, we only need to say “Amen”, which means ‘so be it’, to abundant and eternal life by confessing and believing in Jesus as Lord.

By the way, I included abundant life here on earth because Jesus said in John 10:10b (KJV)
[10] …I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

There’s another decree that God gave for us who believe in His Son. John 1:12 (NIV) declares…
[12] Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

Let’s call this God’s children decree, which is triggered by receiving and believing.

God confirms this decree again in Galatians 3:26-29 (NIV), which declares…
[26] So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, [27] for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. [28] There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [29] If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Wow, we too are beneficiaries of God’s covenant with Abraham! 🤔

Yet as amazing as this fact is, God does exceedingly abundantly more than we could fathom. Romans 8:14-17 (NIV) decrees…
[14] For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. [15] The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” [16] The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. [17] Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

The Holy Spirit is telling me to emphasize Romans 3:22 (NLT) declares…
[22] We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

Always remember that it’s our relationship with God’s righteous Son that makes us right with Him.

Lastly, the Holy Spirit is telling me to leave us with the covenant we live under because of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 8:6-13 (NLT)…
[6] But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises. [7] If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. [8] But when God found fault with the people, he said: “The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. [9] This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord. [10] But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. [11] And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. [12] And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” [13] When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.

In summary we now live under a covenant of:

God’s
Righteousness, and Riches
At
Christ’s
Expense

Today walk freely and confidently in God’s covenant of grace, which was triggered by the obedience of Jesus.

Today’s song is…
Promises

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)