Experiencing God Through His Covenants with Us

 Experiencing God 

Through His Covenants with Us

 

January 14, 2023

Larry R Evans

 

Introduction

In you, LORD my God,

I put my trust…

Show me your ways, LORD,

teach me your paths.

Guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all day long.

          Psalm 25:1,4,5

When we speak of covenants we are speaking of agreements or promises. The underlying principle is that of trust. In a wedding ceremony, we repeat our vows and in doing so we are telling our future life partner that we are trustworthy and reliable and that we will be faithful.  You can count on me, and I can count on you to look after our personal interests. Faithfulness to the marriage vows is important. As is said in Marriage Encounter, “Love is a decision” and that decision is based on an agreement we’ve made with each other. There may be tough situations in the future, but we’ve made our decision regardless of future challenges.

 

When David prays, “In you, LORD my God, I put my trust” he is drawing a contrast between God and those who treat him deceitfully. He believes in God and that is central to any covenant. 

 

Today the need for covenantal trust is critical. We speak of troublous times. We hear on the news and from one another we are in a crisis whether it is regarding COVID, leadership, or the economy. The word crisis comes from a word that means “decision.” It is often translated as “judgment.” The crisis of belief is a turning point that demands that we make a decision. At such times we must decide what we believe about God and our experience with God often is a deciding factor. This is not a one-time experience, however.  It is a daily experience. How we live our life is a testimony based on what we believe about God. Any covenant with God brings us to a threefold crisis:

 

1.     A crisis of belief – God is who He says He is

2.    A crisis of faith – God can be trusted

3.    A crisis of action – God’s invitation is acted upon

“God’s invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action. . . When God asks you to do something that you cannot do, you will face a crisis of belief. You will have to decide what you really believe about God. Can He and will He do what He has said He wants to do through you? What you do in response to His invitation reveals what you believe about God regardless of what you say.” – Henry T. Blackaby and Claude V. King in Experiencing God, p.36

God’s Plan for Us

 

God created us with unique and eternal possibilities. It was sin and not God that interfered with these plans. The good news is that while God’s plans may have been detoured, they have not changed. The fulfillment of those plans calls for our participation, but we must be careful that we don’t imply that our participation by faith somehow provides the basis of the covenant.  We are involved but we do not provide the ground for salvation! To do so would justify the charge of legalism. Nevertheless, consider the following assurances.

[Belief] I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. -- 1 John 5:13

[Faith] You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. -- Matt 10:22

[Action] Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. -- 2 Peter 1:10,11

The Joy and Responsibility of Experiencing 

God’s Presence in Your Life

 

Deuteronomy is directed to the second generation of Israelites following the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. It is sometimes called “The Book of Remembrance”.  A primary focus is God’s faithfulness in fulfilling His promises. Its purpose is to prepare the new generation of the Lord’s chosen people to be His kingdom representatives. Foremost in that representation is experiencing God’s presence, His love, and submission to His leading. Chapter 24 sets forth the blessings of obedience and the curses for God’s people who turn their backs on Him. Throughout Deuteronomy, 

·      God’s faithfulness is seen in His keeping the promises made to their ancestors (Deut. 2:14-15).

·      God’s love for His people is the basis for their rejection of idolatry and their call to love Him “with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deut. 6:5).  

·      Love for God implies the restoration of fairness and justice which reflects impartiality. Personal responsibility is highlighted. Fathers were not to be condemned judicially for the crimes of their children, nor children for the crimes of their fathers (Deut. 26:18-20).  

·      A responsive love to God’s faithfulness includes love and care for the vulnerable four: widows, orphans, the poor, and the stranger. (Deut. 15) 

 

Moses’ Experience with God: 

An Effective Steward in the Making

 

The call of Moses to ministry is a helpful illustration of God’s work to prepare not only prophets of old but how He works to develop our role as stewards of His gracious leadership in our daily lives.  Henry Blackaby and Claude King in their book Experiencing God identify the events surrounding Moses’ call as seen in the burning bush experience (Exodus 2-4). They refer to this as the seven realities of knowing and following God’s will. In many ways, this describes the essence of the calling process for all of us as His chosen stewards. (The following is paraphrased from Experiencing God, pp.32-39)

 

1.     God is always at work around us. Sin interrupted God’s plan for us and separated us from Him. He is always at work to bring about our redemption.

 

2.    God pursues a continuing love relationship with us that is real and personal. Moses was tending sheep when “the angel of the Lord” (Ex.3:1) interrupted what Moses was doing by revealing Himself in the burning bush. 

 

 

3.    God invites us to become involved with Him in His work. When God reveals to you where He is working, that becomes His invitation to join Him. God’s people were in bondage and the time had come for their deliverance. “I have come to deliver them . . . Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt (Ex. 3:8,10).

 

 

4.    God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways. God spoke to Moses through a unique experience, namely, a burning bush to reveal Himself and His purposes (Exodus 3).

 

5.    God’s invitation for us to work with Him always leads us to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action. “He does not call you to get involved just so people can see what you can do. He calls you to an assignment that you cannot do without Him.” You’ll remember how Moses tried to convince God that he was not capable of doing what was asked of him--“O my Lord, I am not eloquent.” “Once God let Moses know what He was about to do, that revelation became Moses’ invitation to join Him.”

 

 

6.    We must make major adjustments in our life to join God in what He is doing. We cannot stay where we are and go with God at the same time. Moses had to come to the place where he believed God could do everything, He said He would do.

 

 

7.     We come to know God by experience as we obey Him, and He accomplishes His work through us.Every step of obedience brought Moses to a greater knowledge of God (see Ex. 6:1-8).

 

The Bible begins with God telling us that we were created with great value and that to each of us, He has given a purpose for living. Inherent within us from that creation moment we have the desire to make a difference. That is the calling of a steward. We sense within us the desire for God to use us for His purposes. It is from this perspective that we use developed the term, “Adventist Possibility Ministries.”  Note this insightful statement by Ellen White,

“Christ can look on the misery of the world without a shade of sorrow for having created man. In the human heart He sees more than sin, more than misery. In His infinite wisdom and love He sees man’s possibilities, the height to which he may attain. He knows that, even though human beings have abused their mercies and destroyed their God-given dignity, yet the Creator is to be glorified in their redemption.” 7T 269.3

The Heart of the Steward  

 

When life is viewed without reference to God, it finds the world in chaos. Human efforts to provide meaning and hope do not add to our sense of lasting security. Solomon in Ecclesiastes, write to drive the reader to trust in God alone. He wrote,

What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. (Ecclesiastes 3:9-11)

After naming human wants and needs, Matthew reminds us what our primary objective should be.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.    --Matthew 6:33,34

Conclusion

 

Whether it be the Old or New Testament the conclusion is the same, “Start with GOD—the first step in learning is bowing down to GOD; (Proverbs 1:7, Message). We not only start there, but we also live there. “Honor the lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops.” (Proverbs 3:9)