Speaker 1He that sat upon the throne was to look upon like a jasper, and like a saddy of stone. Inside thereof, like unto an emerald, O dear Jesus, your face shines like the sun. We all, with an unveiled face, beholding us in the glass, the glory of the Lord. Tonight, we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, leaving us by the Spirit of the Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. We give you all the glory and all the praise. Blessed Holy Spirit, thank you for having preeminence in this place. In Jesus' name, the Son of God. Amen. Hallelujah. All right. Turn with me to the book of Galatians, chapter 3. We read verse 17. Galatians, chapter 3, verse 17. Let me begin from verse 15, 10 to 17, Galatians 3. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men, though it be but a man's covenant. Yet if it be confirmed, no man does acknowledge or addeth thereto. Oh, thank you, Lord. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He said not unto his seed, as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was 430 years after, cannot this annul, that it should meet the promise of none. In effect, praise God. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise. But God gave to Abraham by promise. Now I want us to read verse 17 again, this time from the YLT, the Young's Literal Translation, the YLT, verse 17. And this I say, a covenant confirmed before God in Christ, the law, which was 430 years after God in Christ. This I say, a covenant confirmed before God in Christ, the YLT, verse 17. Before, by God to Christ, the law, that came 430 years after, doth not set aside to make void the promise. Hallelujah. Praise God. How many of you are ready to receive from God tonight? Alright. Alright. I'm speaking on the subject, the seal of circumcision. The seal of circumcision. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Now, to appreciate the Christian life, you have to understand covenant relationship. Covenant relationship. To understand the Christian life. When Abraham, he was Abraham at that time, in Genesis chapter 12, God called him. From his country, and from his kindred, to the land of Canaan. Now, at that time, Abraham was 75 years. And when God called him, God gave him promises. God gave Abraham a lot of promises. When he was 75 years. That's when God called him first. This is Genesis 12. Now, after nine years, nine years after Genesis 12, is Genesis 15. Abraham was about 85, 84 to 85. Nine years after, God actually made a covenant with Abraham. Praise God. Now, if you follow me carefully, I said, when Abraham, in Genesis 12, he was 75 years. He called him to the land of Canaan, and God gave him promises. He was 75. Now, after nine years, when he was 84 to 85 years, God actually made a covenant with Abraham. See, covenant. So, first was a promise, second was a covenant. And there's a difference between a promise and a covenant. But actually, they are the same, yet there are some differences. What's the difference between a promise and a covenant? When a promise is updated or upgraded, it becomes a covenant. Okay. God first promised Abraham, but later on, God had to upgrade the promise to become a covenant. The reason for a covenant is this. Now, a promise takes place between two people. One promises the other party that I'm going to do this for you. Sometimes, it's difficult for the weaker party to believe. Let me give you an example. There was this guy who promised, proposed to this lady in Ghana that he was going to come back three months. Now, he was traveling to the U.S. After three months, he was going to come back to marry her. Then, he traveled to the U.S. Exactly three months, the guy started going out with another person. But the lady was holding on to the promise. But the guy didn't believe her. But the guy didn't honor the promise. Started going out with another lady altogether. This guy is also a pastor. So, you could imagine. So, the lady held, believed in his words. But he never honored what he said. Now, I remember in those days, I grew up in Cape Coast. And in those days, something happened. When a guy promises a lady, especially when a guy is traveling outside the country. And they are going out. And he promises the lady, I'll come and marry you. Because of uncertainty. Normally, what they did in those days was that they had to do a covenant. So, they would cut their skin. Parts of their skin. The guy would cut his hand or his wrist. And the lady would do the same thing. And they would put their blood together. And they would pronounce curses. Curses. You said you'd come. And marry me. If you don't marry me, life is not going to be easy for you. Now, why did they have to do that? Why did they have to cut their hands and make a covenant? It seems the promise was inadequate. The promise should have been okay. But it's as though there's an element of doubt here and there. So, the difference between a promise and a covenant is that a covenant is when a promise has gone through a legal procedure. And it is protected and prosecuted by law. So, a covenant is so binding. Now, with a promise, you can change your mind. I promised it and I've changed my mind. I said I want to marry you. But I think I don't like you again. But a covenant is very serious. The promise is very high. It is protected and protected by law. A covenant has a surety. It has obligations attached to it. That must be honored. So, God promised Abraham. From God's side, God is faithful. God was going to honor it. But Abraham. Let's see Genesis 15. And let me show you what Abraham said. Why God cut the covenant. Why God cut the covenant with Abraham. Genesis 15. All right. Okay. Beginning from verse 5. Verse 5. And he brought him forth abroad and said, Look toward heaven and tell the stars. The Hebrew actually says, and tell the stars. Tell the story of the stars. Abraham, can you tell the story of the stars? Because there's a story behind the stars. Before we had literal Bible, God preached Christ to Abraham through the constellations. The stars. If thou be able to number them, the way to number them is to tell the story of the stars. And he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. The next verse. And he believed in the Lord. And he counted it to him for righteousness. Hallelujah. The next verse. And he said unto him, I am the Lord that brought thee out of the air of the Chaldeans to give thee this land to inherit it. Look at what Abraham said. And he said, Lord, God, how shall I know that I will inherit it? You see, God says, I'm going to let you inherit this land. But he said, how shall I know? You know? Then the next verse, God began to cut a covenant with Abraham. Praise God. Because God had to strengthen Abraham's faith. God knows he's faithful and that he will fulfill his part of the covenant. Sorry, he will dispense and fulfill the promise. But Abraham had to be sure. So, a covenant, a promise, is a covenant. A covenant is a promise that is interposed by an oath. Let me say it this way. A covenant, the word covenant and oath are used interchangeably in the Bible. The oath, God's oath is also his covenant. Oath is God swearing. When God swears, it is called an oath. Praise God. So, why do men have to swear? Why do people have to go and swear by the Bible or by something else? Some say, I swear by the moon, I swear by the stars. It's almost like they are wet and not enough to convey. It means the hearers. We need more convincing proofs. So, people have to swear. So, the Bible says here, men swear by the greater. And an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God, willing the more abundantly to show unto the earth of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath. Hebrews 16 and 17. So, the Bible says, Men swear by the greater. People say, I swear by the sun because the sun is greater than them. Or I swear by the moon because the moon is greater. But God also had to swear. In fact, God had to swear to Abraham. But there was nothing greater than God. So, God couldn't swear beyond himself. So, God had to swear by himself. So, God had to swear by his Godhead. God had to swear by his life. You know what it means for God to swear? If God says, I will do this, it's okay. It's okay. But it's not sufficient for Abraham. So, God had to. Abraham had to hear God swearing. And God had to swear by his Godhead and by his life. You know what it means? For God to swear by his life means, if what I'm saying doesn't come to pass, I'll stop being God. If what I'm saying does not come to pass, I'll deny my existence. That's what it means for God to swear by himself. So, men swear by an oath. But God also had to swear to bring peace and to bring assurance to Abraham. Praise God. Now, in the Bible, the highest type of relationship is in covenant relationship. When God commits himself in a covenant, there is no more he can do to commit himself again. Because a covenant is God's highest and God's, final, irrevocable commitment. So, in a covenant, there's nothing God can do again to commit himself. That is his final commitment. He said, So, in a covenant, God has sworn by himself. He cannot break it. For him to break it, he would have to deny his Godhood. Praise God. So, it's very dangerous. For God to break his covenant, God will not. He had to swear by himself. Hallelujah. He did all these things just for Abraham. But he, God, when he promises, he will never fail. Because his promises are sure. But the problem is man. Man is very uncertain. Hey, this thing that God has said, will he do it? I'm telling you, God has spoken to a lot of you. But you are wondering, hey, will God do it? This person said God has spoken to him and we saw that, the tender didn't come to pass. And this guy is more devoted than I am. Will God do it? And the devil will speak to your mind and suggest things to your mind. We fight in the mental arena. That is why God actually introduced a covenant. To assure weak hearts. Hallelujah. Praise God. Hallelujah. Now, I want to demonstrate to you the Abrahamic covenant. What it means. What it means. Are you following me? What it means. Let's go back to our text. Genesis 15. Where were we? Genesis 15. Verse 7. Verse 8. So, Abraham asks, How shall I, whereby shall I know I shall inherit it? Now, let's go on. Verse 9. And he said unto him. Now, God spoke to Abraham. Take me an hypha of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a tethered dove, and a young pigeon. And he took unto him all these, and divided them in the midst. And he laid each piece one against another, and the birds he divided not. Now, I want to show you how covenants were cut in those days. Are you here? Pastor Michael, can you please come? Brother Jim, I can come. I want us to illustrate how covenants were cut in those days. So, please, you stand here. The man of God, you stand here. Hallelujah. Assuming these two people want to enter into a covenant. Now, I want to show you how it was done in those days and how God entered into a covenant with Abraham. Praise God. Now, in those days, if two people. Now, we have also this reference in Jeremiah 34. When you go home, you can read it. How covenant was entered in in those days. And that's what actually God did in entering into that covenant with Abraham. So, these are two people who are entering into a covenant. It begins by introducing certain animals. And those animals are cut into two. Now, they kill animals. So, we see God mentions certain animals Abraham should take. And those animals are divided. Now, the word, to divide or to cut is the word right. That's the word for covenant. Covenant means to cut. So, this is what happens. The animals are divided into two. Half are laid here on the right. Half of the pieces are laid on the right. And half of the pieces are laid on the left. Praise God. So, the animals are cut into two. Half on the left. Half on the right. And they are standing facing each other. Now, by the time you separate the slain beast, there will be blood all over. Now, the path between this man and that man was called the way of blood. In those days. The way of blood. So, the animals are separated. They are cut into two. Then, can you give me your book? Can you give me. Oh, no, God. Let me get your nice bag. Just symbolically. Then, in cutting a covenant, you begin by exchanging your garments or your robe. So, come together. Just come. So, you exchange your robe. Then, go back. Then, you come again together. Then, you exchange your weapons. Go back. Go back. Then, come again. You exchange your ghetto. Praise God. All right. Now, we also see this in 1 Samuel 18, verse 3 and 4. When David entered into covenant with Jonathan. These are the three things they actually exchanged. They exchanged their weapons. And they exchanged their robe and their ghetto. In 1 Samuel 18, verse 3 and 4. In 1 Samuel 18, verse 3 and verse 4. Now, why do they exchange their robe or their garment? In a covenant, the moment you exchange your garment, you are saying that from today, my identity is your identity. And my authority is your authority. So, the garment or the robe was symbolic of identity and authority. So, they had to exchange. That is what happened between David and Jonathan. They had to exchange their robe. It was an exchange. Yeah. Yeah. The peasant, the shepherd exchanged his robe for the king, for the prince. Gave him access to become the king later on. All right. Then, they now had to exchange their weapons. Weapon is symbolic of power and protection. Power and protection. You know why they exchanged their weapons? In a covenant. If this man is attacked in a war, If this man is in a battle, this man is in a battle. You come to fight the enemy as though it is your battle. That's what a covenant is. So his enemies are your enemies. So in the battle, you come to fight as though you are in a battle. Hallelujah. Then they also exchange their gilder, which is symbolic of their possessions and their wealth. After two people are in a covenant, you can't ask him, where is your purse? No. After the covenant, you ask, where is our purse? After the covenant, whatever is yours, your possessions and your wealth, they belong to each other. So if you were the poorest person and you were the richest, now by covenant, you have become wealthy. For example, if the poorest woman in town marries the richest guy in town, by reason of the marital covenant, they become joint heirs. You are heirs together of the grace of life. So you cannot refer to her again as the poor lady. No, by means of the marital covenant, she has become rich. Hallelujah. His money is your money. Praise God. So after this is done, they walk together to meet in the middle. Okay. After this is done, this is what has happened. They exchange their places. Exchange place, your place. In a covenant, now you are declaring, when they exchange their places, what it means is that now your position is my position and my position is your position. Whatever is yours is now mine and whatever is mine is now yours. That's amazing. That's amazing. So if this man is in trouble, he's in trouble. Do you know that after the covenant, Abraham got into trouble in the house of Abimelech? In fact, he even went to lie that Sarah was his sister. Remember that story? And Sarah nearly slept with Abimelech. Abimelech nearly slept with Sarah if God had not intervened. God entered into the room of Abimelech and said, you are a dead man. You have taken the wife of a prophet. And God closed their wombs and told them to go to Abraham for the first healing and miracle crusade. God defended Abraham because Abraham was in trouble. After the covenant, God is in trouble. God had to now fight for Abraham because of the covenant. The covenant. Hallelujah. Then the next thing is that they now come and meet in the middle. They meet in the middle. Now, they now pronounce the privileges and the rights of the covenant. They now pronounce it to each other. It was called the covenant, the blessing of the covenant. That's how it was. That's how it was. That's how it was called in those days. They pronounce the privileges and the rights they all have in the covenant. Then they also pronounce curses. Now, this was it. If you don't keep the part of the covenant, you see the slain beast. So, your eyes are on it. So, you go back. And as you are coming, just look at the slain beast before you reach the middle. So, just be looking at the slain beast. So, coming together like this actually means coming into your death. It's a kind of death, metaphorical death. It means that if you don't keep your part of the covenant, this is how your end will be. This is how your end will be. The animals that are killed, that are slain. So, when you are coming, they come slowly, full of contemplation. So, after that, then they will cut the arrest here. They will cut the arrest. And as the blood comes, they attach to each other. Meaning now, there is a mingling of blood. Now, they are one. They are now blood brothers by blood because of the covenant. So, from this time, what they do is that they put their names together. So, one will take his name and add it to the other one. So, he will take his name and add it to the other one. So, it was Abram, but I'll show you how. Later on, he became Abraham. Because God's name is the Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh. He-Heh appears twice in his name. Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh. That's the name of God. Y-V-H-V. God took the H-H, the He, and added it to Abram. And Abram became Abraham. Yeah. So, they joined their names together. Now, after this time, after this time, then they will take communion. It was called the covenant meal. Bread and wine. Bread and wine. So, they will take the communion. Which means, my flesh is your flesh. My blood is your blood. We are now one. It was a serious thing. Praise God. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Praise God. So, I will show you the solemnity and how sacred the covenant is. Hallelujah. This is it. This is it. So, you live for each other. You live for each other. Yeah. So, in this covenant, that is why God told Abraham to give me your son, your only son, whom thou lovest. He couldn't because he was in a covenant. He couldn't protest. So, he gave his only son, whom he loves. So, later on, God also saw that Abraham's descendants were in need. So, God also gave his only son. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. So, now, but something happened with the Abrahamic covenant. That was strange. Please, let's go on. Let's go on. Let's go to our text, where we were, and let's continue. All right. Let's go on. Let's scroll down. Okay. And when the sun was going down, so, Abraham had divided the pieces. Okay. Because God, you said to Abraham, I want to attend to a covenant with you. So, Abraham had divided the pieces, and he was waiting for God to come. He waited that God wasn't coming. So, Abraham slept. You see. And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abraham, and lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. The next verse. The next verse, please. The next verse. 17. 17. And it came to pass. Okay. So, Abraham entered into deep sleep, because he has been waiting for God to come, because he and God, if this is Abraham, God, you have to pass through the pieces. So, he has been waiting for God to come. All of a sudden, he waited, God never came. Then, all of a sudden, something happened. Look at the verse. And it came to pass, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold, a smoking fennel and a burning lamp passed between those pieces. In the same day, the Lord made a covenant with Abraham. Can you imagine? So, where was Abraham? He was in deep sleep. And all of a sudden, a smoking fennel, actually like a pillar of smoke, and a burning lamp, like the pillar of fire, which is light, stood at the various places where the covenant parties had to stand, and come through, separate, and take your place. Yes. So. That's what happened. So, a burning smoke, and a smoking fennel, passed through the pieces, and the covenant was cut. Abraham was asleep. When he woke up, the covenant was over. So, what happened? So, in effect, how did God cut the covenant with Abraham? So, in the strictest sense, Abraham was not even a covenanter, he was a beneficiary of the covenant. Now, let me show you what happened. So, these symbols are symbols of the Father, and symbols of Jesus Christ. I'm telling you, there was a smoking fennel, and there was a burning lamp, symbolic of of the sun in type, the blessing of the sun. burning lamp and the spoken finance of the father remember that the covenant was made with abraham and his seed the seed the bible says it's not as of many but as of one the seed is christ so his seed in a typical form semblance stood in his place and cut the covenant for him while he was asleep so now all the demands of the covenant and the requirements and the conditions has nothing to do with abraham it all falls on his representative so there's no requirement on abraham's side because there was a representative that took his place to become the surety of the covenant to bear the obligations and the requirements of the covenant so the abraham doesn't have to do anything all he has to do is that he is not a beneficiary of what has happened between them you that is why oh my rama sandra that is why we read galatians 3 by 17 from the ylt the ylt ma ma ma ma look at the ylt galatians 3 by 17 by 17 quickly and this i see a covenant confirmed before by god to christ the law it happened before the law 430 years it was god to christ so abraham was just there deep sleep that means his path was just to enjoy the provisions of the covenant but his representative is the one liable to bear all the requirements of the covenant what a blessing so it was an unconditional covenant so this covenant was a covenant of grace now listen when israel came out of egypt by the time they came out of egypt something happened they go to the red sea this guy's mamet complained complained complained mamet mamet even at the time of the red sea and you know how god responded to their complaints god divided the red sea and they went through as by a dry ground the ground was even congealed supernaturally they didn't sink into it their legs ever entered into the sand it was congealed and they walk through the red sea when they go to the other side they were thirsty because they have walked for long and they saw some waters but the waters were bitter they were the waters of mara the bitter waters of mara the mamet didn't complain and complain and god responded by changing the bitter waters into sweet waters god responded to their complaining and mamering by doing a miracle deadly they complained that they were hungry and they'd be telling mamet and complain against moses you know how god responded to the complaints by reading manna for them um what is happening they were doing wrong but god was responding right now listen this was what happened until they got to sinai after mount sinai when the mamet god killed him after mount sinai the bible says the mamet and they were destroyed of the destroyer after mount sinai they all started dying but they died until that whole generation died they did the same thing they did prior before mount sinai that time they didn't die but after sinai they all died why why the answer is this before sinai they were strictly under the abrahamic covenant under the abrahamic covenant in that covenant whatever your requirement is your responsibility or your obligations it's forced on the one who passed through the pieces abraham was just to enjoy the benefit of it but the one who's held responsible is the one who passed through the pieces praise god so they complained the mamet yet not one died but at sinai they came under a new covenant which was a covenant of the law it was called the mosaic covenant or the sinaitic covenant the moment they came under that covenant they were liable to bear their own responsibility and their own obligation and god required it from them and when they started they started dying because that's that is the covenant of the law they left the abrahamic covenant of grace and came under the covenant of the law hallelujah have some difference yeah praise god praise god now the good news is that which covenant are we under presently which covenant listen the mosaic covenant or the covenant of the law has been abolished the abrahamic covenant has not when the bible speaks of the old covenant it is not the abrahamic covenant the old covenant is the covenant of the law the abrahamic covenant we are all part of the abrahamic covenant all who all of us in christ but the covenant that is called the covenant of grace or the new covenant the new covenant is also called the everlasting covenant now the god of peace that brought again from the dead the lord jesus christ that great shepherd of sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant hebrews 13 verse 20 he calls the new testament the new covenant of the everlasting covenant because it began in eternity it was ratified in time now understand this the new covenant is the abrahamic covenant upgraded it's the same the new covenant is the abrahamic covenant enlarged and expanded i hear with me it is the abrahamic covenant expanded and enlarged it's the same thing you know what happened on the cross now listen carefully you need to understand this on the cross a new covenant was cut but that covenant was not you and god it was between christ and god that's a new covenant the new covenant was between two immutable forces christ representing you and god they entered into that covenant that's a new covenant in fact in isaiah 42 in isaiah 42 and 49 the bible promised of him god spoke to jesus prophetically i will give you as a covenant to the people in isaiah 42 he said he's going to give him as a covenant to the people a covenant to the people he's going to represent the people in a covenant in malachi 3 verse 1 and 2 jesus is called the messenger of the covenant he's the messenger of the covenant in hebrews 7 22 the bible calls him the surety of a better testament so jesus is you didn't enter into covenant with God when you got born again. Jesus, like what happened to Abraham, Jesus took your place and entered into covenant with God. Now, I want you to understand that Abraham was the most blessed man on earth after the covenant. You know why? Because now whatever belongs to God now is for Abraham. How wealthy is Abraham, God? All of God's wealth belongs to Abraham. Abraham's authority is God's authority. That's how wealthy Abraham was. Melchizedek will address Abraham the possessor of the heaven and the earth. And scholars cannot tell, is he addressing God, who is the possessor of the heaven and the earth, or Abraham? It's both. By covenant, Abraham possessed heaven and earth because heaven and earth belongs to God. Abraham the blessed. God gave everything to Abraham after the covenant. Now we, Abraham's seed, on the cross, something wonderful happened. There's a covenant between God and Christ on the cross. Christ was representing you. Now, whatever belongs to God now is for Christ. Whatever belongs to Christ now is for God. Praise God. So now this is God, this is Christ. That's what happened on the cross. He entered into a covenant for us representatively, just like it's happened in the days of Abraham. And in Hebrews 7.22, the Bible says Jesus is the surety of a better testament. Can we see Hebrews 7.22? You know what that means? Do you remember? Do you remember when Joseph was in Egypt and his brothers had come but they put sacks in the back. They put a silver cup and they put a silver cup in the bag of Benjamin in the sack of Benjamin and when they left he made his man pursue his brothers and the sack was found in the sack of Benjamin the cup was found in the sack of Benjamin and actually he had to take Benjamin as a slave then Judah stood up and said I'll be a surety for him that means I'll take his place of the punishment whatever he has been found guilty whatever his liable let it fall on me I'll be a surety for him because he promised his father Jacob that he's going to be a surety for him a surety is the one who takes another person's obligations punishment and responsibility how many of you I don't know about present day universities there was something called snit loan snit loan I don't know what is still happening now you need guarantees to be able to pen your signature a guarantor is one who co-signed for the payment of a debt it was difficult to get those guarantees because a lot of people after school would not work a lot would travel outside the country and sometimes it was difficult to even get a work the agreement was that after school you would work to get money and pay back snit but many ran away so when they ran away their guarantor is the one who is liable because he has signed he has co-signed for the payment of the debt so they go to him and he must pay that's a surety so Jesus is the surety of the New Testament for by so much was Jesus made the word made here is in perfect sense past, present and future we have an eternal surety that means all your faults your mistake your foolishness your sins all of it he is liable he is responsible for the payment that's wild that's amazing that's it he is the surety so Jesus actually took your place and this is what happened when he entered into the covenant with the father everything belonging to the father was given to Jesus okay so he entered into covenant with the father then he died he died he died and rose up as the testator do you know what's the difference between a covenant and a testament the covenant became the testament you know what the testament is have you ever how many of you have had your father passed away okay did your father leave any will for you so you went for the will no will for you was there a will for you oh African fathers is anyone so there's no one who has received a will that was made by his deceased father oh you have received oh wonderful so most fathers die intestate intestate means they didn't live in a will because maybe they themselves didn't have any property yeah they themselves needed help maybe you were helping your father but for your father to die a testator means that he died leaving a will so the bible says a testament is of force after men are dead otherwise it is of no strength at all whereas the testator liveth so if the testator is alive you can't have the will you only receive the will after the man dies praise God Jesus received all the blessings of the covenant that he died and rose up as a he died as a testator that means that everything he received from the father in the covenant he willed it to you amen amen amen amen He had willed everything to you. The Bible says he's a testator. So the New Testament is a new will, which is a product of the covenant. So in strict sense, we are not the covenanters. We are the beneficiaries of the covenant that took place between God and Jesus. And once we are beneficiaries, Jesus is the one who is held responsible. It is the covenant of grace. That's amazing. And we are beneficiaries. We are receiving healing. We are receiving peace. We are receiving joy. We are receiving health. We are receiving prosperity. We are receiving the communion of the Holy Spirit. We are receiving wisdom. We are receiving forgiveness of sins. All the blessings are ours. It has been willed to us. Hallelujah. So testament means there's a testator who died to give us the will. That's it. So out of the covenant came. The testament. Praise God. Please, I follow him. Yeah. Thank you, Jesus. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. All right. All right. Galatians 3, verse 17. YLT. And this I say, oh my. Okay, let me just say something from verse 15. 15 will come to 17. Brethren, as a man, I say it, even of a confirmed covenant, no one doth make void or doth add to. Give me King James. Give me King James, please. Verse 15. Yet if it be confirmed, no man doth annul it or add it unto. He says that once a covenant is made and confirmed, you cannot add to it. You cannot add. He's saying that after God made a covenant of grace with Abraham, after 430 years, another covenant was made, which is the law. He says, the law which came 430 years after. Cannot add anything to the covenant which had been made with Abraham, which is the covenant of grace. You know what he's trying to say? That now that we are under this covenant of grace, which is of faith, because it is of grace, the law cannot add anything to it. If you are saved by grace, you cannot be saved by works. The two are separate. Verse 17. That's what he's saying, verse 17. All right. YLT. And this I say. A covenant confirmed before by God to Christ. The law that came 430 years after doth not set aside or make void the promise. Praise God. Hallelujah. Yeah. So under the covenant of grace, the law cannot be added unto. You have nullified the covenant. We are saved by grace. We are not saved by grace and works. What Jesus did is complete. We receive it by believing your salvation is not by what you do. Your salvation is by believing what you do and how we live. We'll give you a reward in heaven. Hallelujah. Yeah. And it will glorify the father. But look at this verse and this, I see a covenant confirmed. Before by God to Christ, the law that came 430 years after I want you to understand this. When was the covenant confirmed in Genesis, Genesis 15, there was a covenant between God and Abraham strictly between Christ and God for Abraham, the Abrahamic covenant was cut in Genesis 15, but this verse is not talking about Genesis 15 because Genesis 15, the covenant was not confirmed. It was not confirmed. He says a covenant confirmed though the covenant was made in Genesis 15, it wasn't confirmed. Some call it a one sided covenant, unilateral it was Abraham had not yet consented. It was not yet confirmed. The Bible says it was confirmed 430 years before the law. Now if you calculate 430 years backward from Mount Sinai, you know where you get, you get to Abraham when he was 99 years, Abraham was 99 in Genesis 17, in Genesis 15, he was 84, 85. Genesis 17, God confirmed. the covenant to Abraham. In Genesis 15, the covenant wasn't confirmed. The covenant was confirmed in Genesis 17. So let's go to Genesis 17. How was it confirmed? By the act of circumcision. Praise God. Amazing. A covenant needs to be confirmed. Now this is what it means. If two people have entered into a covenant, until it is confirmed, you can add to the covenant. But once it has been confirmed, that's all. There's no addition. You can be adding to it. It's enough room. You can be adding to it and say, okay, okay, okay. But once it is confirmed, it is sealed. You can't change your mind. It is too late to change your mind. So, it was confirmed in Genesis 17 by the act of circumcision. In fact, the moment it was confirmed, three months, Sarah became pregnant. The moment it was confirmed, Sarah became pregnant and birth of Isaac. It's just three months after this. At this time, Abraham was 99. All right. Let's go to verse 7. Verse 7. Genesis 17, verse 7. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee. Now, look at the language of this chapter. He says, I will establish my covenant. But in chapter 15, verse 18, look at 15, verse 18. Genesis 15, verse 18. Two different words. In Genesis 15, he made a covenant. In Genesis 17, he is there to establish the covenant. To make a covenant is to cut the covenant between two people. But to establish the covenant is to confirm it. It's to confirm. The confirmation is that the other party now consents to it. Verse 11. Genesis 17, verse 11. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin. And it shall be a token, a sign of the covenant between me and you. Praise God. Verse 11, please. Let this be in verse 11. So, God gave him the sign of circumcision. So, the moment Abraham was circumcised, that's age 99. Yeah. That is how the covenant was established. It's amazing. And the circumcision is a surgical cut of the foreskin of the male organ. And that was a sign that now the covenant is established. Can you imagine? It's a sign that Abraham, although it was made for Abraham, he has consented to it. Praise God. Three months after, Sarah was pregnant. The promises began to be unfolded. But he says that it shall be a sign. The word token means a sign. A sign of the covenant between me and you. So, the guy has been circumcised. So, the circumcision was to serve as a reminder that they were in covenant. So, once you are circumcised, you can't be uncircumcised. So, everywhere he goes, it was powerful. So, the circumcision is always a reminder that you are in a covenant. Now, it's so powerful. This is it. Assuming you are Abraham, you have been circumcised. Then there's a war that is coming. The nations have gathered themselves to war against you. Then you start getting worried. Hey, what will I do? What will I do? Fear starts coming because you don't have to worry about it. Because you don't have to worry about it. Because you don't have the military equipment to meet all that have mobilized against you. Then, you remember that you are circumcised. This circumcision is to remind you that, oh, you don't have to worry again. You are in a covenant. In a covenant, when you are in a war, it is his war. It is his war. So, you just have to say, Lord, your battle has come. Take over. Take over. So, actually, the weaker party always profit. Because the strongest military are those who are the strongest military or the party will always fight for you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Do you know that the Bible says, put on the whole armor of God. In Isaiah 59, the Bible speaks of God's armor. God has his own armor. The hope, the helmet is God's armor. The breastplate of righteousness in Isaiah 59 is God's armor. By now, you have been given the armor. His armor is our armor because of the covenant relationship. As we can put on the whole armor of God. His weapons are our weapons. His weapons today are our weapons. That's amazing. Now, assuming life has become challenged. Economically, things are not working. And we are weeping, crying, crying, crying. Then you remember, circumcision is a reminder that you are in a covenant. Then, you are just working in penury and in poverty. Then your circumcision now reminds you that it's a sign that I'm in a covenant. In the covenant, we exchange our ghetto. That speaks of wealth and possession. So, God's wealth and possession is mine. And mine is his. So, you just have to look on high as a God. You swore by a God. Godhead. You swore by yourself. And you said, my covenant will I not break. So, the circumcision is to cause the covenant to be activated. Because God has sworn by himself. If God doesn't do it, he would have to deny himself. His oath is behind the covenant. So, the circumcision was such a blessing. So, can you imagine how God always wanted them to be mindful of the covenant? Because circumcision is organic. It's part of you. It's part of you. At least, any time you are baffled, you remember that you are in a covenant. That is why any time you are being watched in the world, there's a reminder of what you have in Christ. Praise God. So, you can walk in life with boldness. Smiling. Because if God be for us, who can be against us? Because whatever comes, Abraham's authority is God's authority. He can speak as God because we are in a covenant. And the circumcision was a reminder. A reminder. A reminder. A reminder. That is why after the circumcision, God quickly had to give Abraham a child. Yeah? It's a reminder that you are in a covenant. Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. Hallelujah. So, this circumcision is a sign. And this sign is a constant reminder of that covenant that has been cut. Hallelujah. Once you have the memory of it, life becomes better. Now, let me show you what this circumcision means for us. Romans chapter 4. Romans chapter 4. Now, let's start from verse 1. Romans chapter 4. What shall we say then that Abraham, our father, as pertaining to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he has wear off the glory. But what says the scripture? Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. Now, to him that work is a reward and a record of grief. And not of death. But to him that work had not. But believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly. His faith is counted for righteousness. Oh, marabakotaka. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputed righteousness without works. Saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Now, these are the greatest blessings of the New Testament. It's amazing. Let's go to verse 8. Please don't go ahead of me. Blessed is the man. Let's go back. To whom the Lord will not. Impute means it's an accounting time. You go to the bank and you put something into someone's account. It is the word logizomai. depositing money into someone's account. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not Deport his son Into his account Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not In the Greek It is not How you see in English The word will not is The strongest double negation In the Greek It is the word who may Blessed is the man to whom the Lord Will never never No not by any means Put son into his account Will not The will not in the Greek Is in the future middle voice The middle voice There is no middle voice in English Middle voice is in the Greek That means if God does not put son into your account It is for his benefit If God puts son into your account It is against him God Would have violated His justice It would have been a travesty of justice Because God put all your sins on Jesus And punished him for it Past present and future For him to punish again what he punished Would be a travesty of justice It is the law of double jeopardy Will not The word will is in the future middle tense Even in the future He doesn't put son into our account Because Christ bore it Now listen The New Testament revelation When you hear it It doesn't cause you to go and live in sin That doesn't mean you never understood it It doesn't lead you to go and live in sin It's so wrong If you see his mercies and grace I'm telling you that The true holiness Is when you see his mercy and grace When you understand his grace Because that kind of holiness Is when no one sees you And you're living right Praise the Lord The revelation If you receive this truth And you go messing up Then it wasn't revelation It was just information But if it is revelation It will strip you You see his love The more you see his love The more you know his love You work in holiness The more you step out of his love You step in sin But the more you are bound in his love And knowing who he is The more you consecrate yourself for him That's how it is Praise God So it's beautiful that He doesn't even impute sin into our account Hallelujah The next verse Now listen Wait, wait, wait Now let's go to verse 11 I want you to understand What this circumcision is all about Look at verse 11 Abraham And he received the sign Of circumcision A seal of the righteousness Of the faithfulness Of the faith Which he had Yet been uncircumcised Are you following me? Now we are taking it higher That circumcision he did It was a sign That he was in a covenant with God Is that not so? But Paul now Juxtaposing Romans 4 With Genesis 17 Paul is saying that That circumcision was a seal Of the righteousness Of faith Which he had previously received In Genesis 15 What is he talking about? Mako karabashakata Circumcision is the seal Of the righteousness of faith What is a seal? Let me present it this way It's the same thing He says And he received the sign Of the circumcision The sign is a seal Now say the sign is a seal When you finished University of Ghana Remember that you had a certificate But there was a seal on it The seal is just to confirm That you have finished your education The seal is to authenticate To attest To confirm That something that has happened Is genuine So you see your certificate There is a seal on it It authorizes and authenticates What has previously been done Hallelujah So the sign is the seal Of the righteousness of faith Mako karabashakata Now in Genesis We are told that The circumcision Is to remind him of the covenant But here Paul is saying The circumcision Was to remind him That he was righteous by faith Alright Alright I want to show you what it means Let's go to Genesis 15 Genesis 15 Genesis 15 Now before the covenant was made Look at verse 6 Look at verse 6 Abraham believed the Lord And it was counted to him For righteousness Now Abraham believed God And You know what it means God took his righteousness And put it into Abraham's bank account And put it into his bank account So Abraham now received God's own righteousness That righteousness He didn't work for it It was a gift Praise God Hallelujah Praise God Now this wasn't the first time Abraham believed God The first time Abraham believed God Was Genesis 12 In fact by faith Abraham when he was called To go out into a place Which he should after receive For an inheritance Obeyed He went out Not knowing whether he went We see that also in Hebrews 11 verse 8 He went out He left his kingdom By country By faith But that faith didn't give him righteousness But in Genesis 15 God brought Abraham and said Can you tell the number of the stars No The Hebrews says Can you tell the story of the stars The heavens declare the glory of God The same word Telling the Can you number the stars Is the same word Psalm 19 The heavens declare The heavens tell the story Of the glory of God And the firmament Showed his handiworks Day on today They do what They do what Atterest speech The word atter Is a word for prophet They prophesy The stars The constellations They prophesy Now the ancient guys Understood The division of the constellations They actually revealed Christ Through the constellations Now there are Twelve major constellations In the heavens The first one is called the Virgo It's a virgin carrying a woman A female A virgin Carrying a baby The whole stars Are in the shape of a woman Carrying a baby The story The gospel of the story Was hidden in the stars That the gospel story Will begin with a woman A virgin Who will give birth to a baby And all the constellations Tell the story of who Jesus is And it ends with The constellation Leo Which is the lion Because Jesus was going to resurrect As the lion of the tribe of Judah So I'm telling you The constellations I have a message like that On my YouTube page You can listen to it The whole story of the stars The whole story of the stars I have it So Abraham believed God Why is it that at this time When he believed God God took his righteousness And gave it to him Because Abraham at this time Believed God concerning his son Concerning Jesus The gospel was preached to Abraham And when he believed He saw Jesus ahead of time And God put his righteousness Into Abraham's bank account Abraham became righteous Then To show him The component of righteousness He made a covenant with him So this is in verse 6 Then from verse 7, 8 God cut the covenant with him So the covenant Is the covenant of righteousness Hallelujah It is the covenant of righteousness Please I follow it When he believed Okay let's read verse 7 And the promise came, verse 8. He asked a question, and verse 9, it began. So the whole thing, righteousness of faith, this covenant is about righteousness of faith. And righteousness of faith is the biggest subject in the whole Bible. It's all about your identity in Christ. To understand it is to enjoy your Christian life. Praise the Lord. Say righteousness of faith. The gospel is all about righteousness of faith. That's the gospel. Righteousness of faith. Hallelujah. Now, I will show you how we can activate a covenant for our daily living. But I want you to understand righteousness of faith. Abraham was declared righteous. Faith. Everything in the covenant has to do with faith. The moment you receive the gift of the righteousness of faith, everything in the covenant is yours. All the package of the covenant is now yours. Praise God. Because we are told, in Genesis we are told, that the circumcision is to remind us of the covenant. Then Paul tells us that the covenant was righteousness. So it's the same. Simple mathematics. In Genesis 7, verse 17, 11, the circumcision was to remind us that we are in covenant. That means whatever God has in the covenant, whatever God has in the covenant, whatever God has in the covenant, as we have, but what is that covenant? paul is saying that's the same circumcision was to confirm that abraham was righteous by faith it happened at the same time so the covenant was actually the covenant of righteousness please do you understand one more time do you understand so in genesis circumcision is a reminder a reminder sorry that they are in covenant but paul is saying circumcision was a reminder that abraham is righteous by faith hallelujah now look at a romans 4 verse 13 romans 4 13 romans 4 13 for the promise look at this for the promise that that he should be the heir of the world god the promise that he should inherit the whole world the word world here according to teah describes the richest in the world the riches the endowments the advantages all the blessings the wealth in the world for the promise that abraham should inherit the world was not to abraham and to his seed through the law but through the righteousness of faith it's a nice way of saying by the covenant so when they entered into the covenant whatever belongs to god came to abraham but that covenant is the covenant of the righteousness by faith so we inherit the world through righteousness by faith hallelujah what is the blessing of abraham there's a difference between the blessings of abraham and the blessing one blessing of abraham there's one blessing that leads to all the blessings the bible didn't see the blessings of abraham no the blessing singular of abraham now galatians 3 verse 8 galatians 3 verse 8 and the scripture foreseeing that god will justify now say justify now it's the same as the word righteous the same words to justify means to declare righteous for the scripture foreseeing that god will declare the hidden the gentiles the nations righteous through faith preached before the gospel unto abraham saying indeed shall all nations be blessed listen indeed the gospel the scripture preached before the gospel to abraham and go to abraham in you shall all nations be blessed now look at the context how shall all nations be blessed righteousness by faith what is the blessing that god would justify the hidden god will declare the nations righteous is the blessing this is simple english can you see it can you see it for the scripture foreseeing that god would justify the nations through faith or god would declare the nations through faith preached before the gospel to abraham saying in this shall all nations be blessed so when go to abraham in you shall all nations be blessed we didn't understand go to abraham that in you all nations shall be blessed we didn't understand paul is saying that actually it was the scripture preaching to abraham that in him the nations will be justified by faith so the blessing of abraham is the justification by faith why because when you are justified by faith you are in the covenant every blessing is yours let's come down to verse 15 the same verse 15 verse 15 that the blessing of abraham might come on the gentiles through jesus christ and this blessing of abraham is righteousness by faith you see that that god will take his righteousness and give to abraham abraham now has god's righteousness you see that blessing every blessing is attached to it let me illustrate it again are you here with me praise god hallelujah second corinthians 5 verse 21 so if you've preached with me this is the last illustration then you'll sit down okay praise god for he has made him to be sent for us who knew no sin how many of you believe that jesus died to be sent for us everybody believes it that the reason jesus went to the cross is to take your son now he didn't have any son to die for jesus wasn't a sinner jesus was perfectly righteous he was holy he was made higher than the heavens separate from sinners jesus but when he went to the cross he was made higher than the heavens separate from sinners jesus but when he went to the cross for he has made him to be son he didn't become a sinner on the cross he became son that means how about korobo shakata hallelujah how many of you believe in this verse that jesus was made sin for you do you know that the church believe only half of this verse but they don't believe the next half look at the verse for he has made him to be son for us who knew no sin how many of you believe in this verse that jesus was made sin for us who knew no sin what was the reason that we might be made what was the reason that we might be made what was the reason that we might be made the righteousness of god in him so many the righteousness of god in him so many the righteousness of god in him so many people believe the first part that jesus people believe the first part that jesus people believe the first part that jesus was medicine but they don't believe the was medicine but they don't believe the was medicine but they don't believe the next part of the verse that we should next part of the verse that we should next part of the verse that we should become the righteousness of god let me become the righteousness of god let me become the righteousness of god let me show what happened on the cross show what happened on the cross This is Jesus. This is Jesus. Perfectly righteous. Okay. And this is you, the sinner. And this is what happened at the cross. Jesus came. Now you stand there. And took your place. And all your sins were imputed on him. All your sins. All your sins. Past, present, and future. All your sins from birth to when you leave the earth. They were all put on Jesus. It was imputed on Jesus. How did Jesus become sin? Not by sinning. He became sin by receiving your sin. So he received every sin. Now Jesus took your place on the cross. When he was on the cross, God saw him as you. God saw Jesus as you. And Jesus received everything you deserved. Every pain. Every punishment. Your condemnation. Your judgment. The wrath. Everything came on Jesus because God saw him as you. And God gave everything you deserved. Put on him. For what purpose? So he took your place. So God is seeing him as you. So that you might take his place. Now, righteousness is that you have taken his place. Because he took your place, he was made sin. That you might take his place. What is his place? Righteousness. Now, how was he made sin? Is it by sinning? He didn't become sin by sinning. He became sin by imputation. All your sins were imputed by receiving your sins. How do you become righteous? By you receiving the imputation of his righteousness. So, he became sin by receiving your sin. You become righteous by receiving his righteousness. He took your place that you might take his place. So, you see, on the cross, God saw Jesus as you. So that today, when he sees, something has changed, something has changed. On the cross, you know, he turned his back on Jesus. He forsook him. He forsook him. Because he was treating him as you. He gave him everything you deserved. So that when you take his place, God will give you everything he deserves. God will give you everything he deserves. So, he took your sin place that you might take his sin place. And when you take his sin place, the place is called righteousness by faith. He became sin. And you have taken his place. He took your place so that you might take his place. Now, you have taken the son's place. You are in the place of the son. So, now, God, actually, in the New Testament, God is now treating you as him. He's treating you as he would treat Jesus. You are in the place of Jesus. Every love he lavishes on Jesus, he's lavishing the same love on you. Every blessing he lavishes on Jesus, he's lavishing the same blessing on you. Because when he took your place, God dealt him severely as you. Now that you have taken his place. God is treating you as him. That's righteousness. Righteousness. That's who we are now. To the praise of the glory of his grace. Wherein he has made us accepted in the beloved. You know how I'm accepted? I'm not accepted in myself. He could have said, I'm accepted in Christ. But he used a more endearing word. Endearing. I'm accepted in the beloved. If you have a pen, you put the pen in the book. And you lock, you zip the book. What you see is the book. Where the book goes is where the pen goes. The book's acceptance is the pen's acceptance. God puts you in Christ. When God sees you, he doesn't see you. He sees you in him. The only way you can be rejected is for Christ to be rejected. Because your acceptance is in his acceptance. Because he's your representation. We are accepted in the beloved. In the beloved. Oh, now. Oh, you are provoking me to go to Ephesians. Let's go to Ephesians quickly. I'll come back. Ephesians 1. From verse 1. Verse 3. Verse 3 says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessing. Oh. Now, the word all is a Greek word, pas, which means every type, every kind, every shape, every form. You have been blessed with every type of blessing. According as he has chosen us in him, before the foundations of the world, before the foundation, before. Oh, Romama. The word is katabole. He chose us in him before the overthrow of Lucifer. So even before Lucifer was chosen, we were previously chosen. That we should be holy and without blame before him in love. He's not saying that we should be. The sentence means that. Now, if I have a spectacles, okay. And if I'm wearing the red spectacles, everything I see is red. If I wear green spectacles, everything I see is green. Is that not so? When God puts you into Christ, He sees you through the spectacles of Christ. He sees you without blame. Because he sees you in the spectacles of Christ. God sees you in the spectacles of the blood of Jesus. Before him in love. "Haven't predestinated us." That's five. You see the word predestinate means to mark beforehand. To mark beforehand. It's the word horizo. Where we get the word horizon. It's like a separation. He separated us ahead of time. The word adoption is actually not properly translated. Because it's not adoption. Adoption as it was used in those days is different from the adoption as it's used in this place. Biblical adoption is different from civil adoption. So the word here is hiotasia. Which means the place of a son. Hios is son. Tasia is place. The place of the son. Or son placement. So he predestinated us. Onto hiotasia. He predestinated us. Onto son place. Son place. Son place. Son place. May God bring this chair. This is the seat of the son. This is where the son is. The son has privileges. The son has enjoyment. The son has authority. He is full of the spirit. Everything belongs to the son. This is his place. But from the eternities. God marked you beforehand. That one day. One day he will give you. The place. Of his son. Of his son. Of his son. Do you know that right now. You have been given the place of Jesus. Listen. And has raised us up together. And made us sit. No. The English says sit. But it's not sit. Ephesians 2:6. It's the word enthroned. And enthroned us together. In heavenly places. In Christ. Do you know. That you are enthroned with Christ. The mirror version says. He has enthroned us together. And made us. Co-sitted in his executive authority. So you are seated with Christ. You partake in the authority. The throne represents. My. My. My. My. You have been given the place of the son. You have the acceptance of the son. You have the life of the son. You have the authority of the son. You have the prosperity of the son. As he is. So are we. In this world. If children. Then heirs. Heirs of God. And joint heirs with Christ. Joint heirs means. Joint equal shareers. Equal heirs. Whatever belongs to him. Belongs to me. You see. It means that. We are righteous. Not because of anything we did. We are righteous. Because we received. We received the gift. At new birth. And we are conscious. Of who we are in Christ. If you are conscious. Of your righteousness. You will produce right living. But if you are conscious. That you are a sinner. Sinners sin. You will be a sinner. Sinners sin. Sinners sin. Sinners sin. Sinners sin. Sinners sin. So. You will keep on sinning. If you know you are. His righteousness. The result is that. You produce the fruit. Of righteousness. Hallelujah. God just sees you. As his son. Oh my. So. I just wanted to illustrate. You have made. His righteousness. Say. I am the righteousness. Of God. Righteousness. That is the reason. For the cross. That is the reason. For the cross. That is the reason. Romans 10 verse 4. Now. Give me the. TPT. The passion. Romans 10 verse 4. Romans 10 verse 4. For the Christ. Is the end. Of the law. When Christ came. The law. Left. And because of him. God has transferred. His righteousness. To you. So. That is the reason. For the cross. Is the end. Of the law. When Christ came. The law. Left. And because of him. Christ has transferred. His perfect righteousness. To all who believe. You understand. God has transferred. To all who believe. My. And those who are. Mindful. Of this righteousness. Will begin to receive. All the blessings. That comes with righteousness. If you. If you believe. We are sinners. You can excuse yourself. Because. If we are sinners. Sinners sin. So. If you sin. Live in sin. It is all right. God has transferred. His perfect. Righteousness. So. If you. Sin. Live in sin. It is all right. But. You are not a sinner. Hallelujah. You are. His righteousness. You are. His righteousness. God sees you. God doesn't see you. In your weakness. And shortcomings. God doesn't see you. In your sins. God sees you. In Christ. Yeah. Until. You see yourself. The way. God sees you. You. Your faith. Life. Will always. Be. In the. Place. Of the. Son. Hallelujah. I said. Hallelujah. Now. See. The righteousness. Of faith. The reason. Is because. You know. Why it is called. Righteousness. Of faith. When the Bible. Says. You are. Righteous. You are. The righteousness. Of God. It's. Your spirit. It's. Your born. Against. God. You are. Righteous. You are. Discouraged. If. You look. Into. The mirror. Nothing. Shows. You. Are. His. Righteousness. In fact. Maybe. A lot. Of. Negative. Thoughts. Are. Even. Bombarding. Your. Head. You. Are. Righteous. Feeling. Comes. And. Goes. One. Day. You. Feel. Righteous. And. The. Next. Day. You. Feel. Like. A. Sinner. You. Know. How. Feelings. Are. It's. Like. Sitting. On. The. Wall. Of. Your. Heart. You. Are. Righteous. If. God. Says. You. Are. His. Righteousness. It. Doesn't. Matter. How. Bad. You. Are. Feeling. Maybe. Feeling. Depressed. Maybe. Feeling. Low. How. Does. It. Operate. Now. You. Are. Righteous. By. Faith. But. How. Does. It. Operate. How. Can. You. Enjoy. The. Fruit. Of. Righteousness. Now. I. Want. Us. To. Go. By. The. Righteousness. Which. Is. Of. Faith. Speaketh. By. The. Righteousness. Which. Is. Of. Faith. I. Want. You. To. you to know that you are in the place of the son can you imagine that you wake up every morning i say is who am i in this world there's a lady who had breast cancer and she took the report and showed it to jesus and said he said lord as you ask who am i you don't have breast cancer so i cannot have it she was completely healed the word works it works but let me show how it works now okay we read verse four let's read verse five there are two kinds of righteousness one is a gift one you have to earn it which is called the righteousness of the law most of the scribes are not righteous they are not righteous they are not righteous they are not righteous the righteousness which is of the law the man the man who do it these things or those things shall live by them so with the law you have to live exactly 613 laws and by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in the sight of god it is evident if you keep all the laws the bible says you have life you will live but knowing that we can't he's given to us by gift the next verse he says but you see the one is by doing but the righteousness which is of faith speaketh the other one is by speaking now whenever you see the king james word speaketh say speaketh and i like this king james speaketh you see the eth at the end the suffix the suffix eth in the greek is actually a continuous and in a repeated action so in the greek it's in the present continuous action so he says the righteousness which is of faith speaks and speaks and speaks and speaks and speaks and speaks and speaks that's a greek speaks and speaks so you can benefit from your righteousness by speaking and speaking and speaking and speaking and speaking and speaking and speaking and speaking and speaking and let me show how it works now let's go back to the covenant i told you that in the covenant abrahamic covenant you remember how we illustrated the covenant everything that belongs to god now belongs to abraham through christ is that not so okay and i told you the word says circumcision is a sign that man and god were in covenant but paul says this same same circumcision confirmed that abraham was righteous by faith hallelujah hallelujah so circumcision is all about righteousness by faith it's the seal of the righteousness by faith you understand it's the same thing so simple mathematics genesis says the circumcision was a sign to remind them of the covenant paul says that circumcision was to remind abraham that he was righteous by faith so righteousness by faith is the covenant i hope you understand it is the covenant of righteousness okay now listen when you start speaking your righteousness you activate the covenant you activate the covenant because the covenant is all about righteousness you activate it hallelujah you see you know why it is called circumcision circumcision means that once upon a time in the philippians three verse three paul says that for we are the circumcision of the world we are the circumcision of the world we are the circumcision which worship god in the spirit and rejoice in the lord jesus christ and have no confidence in the flesh confidence in the flesh means that we are not trying to make something happen because god has already done it we believe and we speak it's not the energy of the flesh trying to let it happen the reason why you get into worry anxiety and stress is that you want things to happen in your own way instead of believing for god to fight your battles for you let's assume you are hungry for the past three days you have no money to buy food what do you do i can give you a key that can get you food do you want to know that key you are hungry you want food three days you're not getting food all right someone won best buy someone won best buy give me give me any other version someone won best buy another version i don't want there's a covenant today i want the covenant the word covenant all right he provides food for those who fear him he's ever mindful of his covenant listen listen that means as part of the covenant if you are hungry he has to give you food because the bible says he will ever be mindful of his covenant why is he mindful because he says my covenant will lie not break i will not alter the thing which has gone out of my lips the reason why he's mindful of his covenant is that he has sworn by an oath he has sworn by his life that if he doesn't fulfill the terms of the covenant he will stop being god so he has given food to those who fear him he will ever be mindful of his covenant so you know when you are hungry simple just sit down and say lord i'm hungry i am the righteousness of god in christ because the righteousness which is of faith speak it yes it is the means to activate the covenant they say lord this is the part this is your covenant you are mindful of your covenant food is part of the package i command food to come to me in the name of jesus let food come to me because it is my right i am in the place of christ whatever christ deserves i deserve it because i am in the place of the son and god is entitled to treat me like he would treat his son because he treated his son as though he was treating me and god honors that holy transaction this holy transaction is what martin luther calls the glorious exchange it is what calvin calls the duplex imputation he took he took my imputation of son that i might i might take his imputation of righteousness so whatever he has i have whatever he is i am we are joint heirs you just have to declare lord i cannot be hungry go and you just go and use this verse but make sure you are hungry he will ever be mindful so i am the righteousness of god that is the means to activate a covenant all right look 16 verse 13 13 16 13 16. you remember the woman who was bowed jesus went into the synagogue and this woman for 18 years had never seen the sun because she was bowed this way and she knew there she knew everybody's sandal everybody's shoe who came into the synagogue because she was always bowed she could tell that if you change your shoe today she could tell you have changed your shoe because she was always bowed never changed your shoe never saw the sun now jesus entered and after teaching jesus said woman thou art loosed from thine infirmity but you know what jesus said not this woman ought that's his right being a daughter of abraham that means she's part of the covenant whom satan has bound lord these 18 years be loosed from the bond on a sabbath day that means deliverance and healing is part of the abrahamic covenant so jesus says ought not this woman isn't it her right satan has bound her 18 years ought not this woman she is entitled to be loosed from this bond of infirmity being a daughter of abraham means you are a believer you are part of abraham's seed it is your right so i'm telling you that you are experiencing any kind of sickness in your body in your bone in your marrow every type of sickness it is simple the way to activate the covenant is through your lips i am the righteousness of god by faith if you declare your righteousness then begin to declare your healing because healing is your rights it is part of the covenant and god cannot break the covenant healing is yours it is imperative you believe you are his righteousness now romans 10 verse 9 the niv version if you have niv romans 10 verse 9 romans 10 verse 9 you always have to believe in your heart that you are his righteousness good good and by staying Verse 10 For it is with your heart That you believe and are justified And it is with your mouth That you profess your faith and are saved So in your heart Believe you are justified Now give me King James Version With the heart man believeth unto righteousness So you have to believe in your heart that you are righteous And whatever you say with your mouth Will lead to salvation The word salvation is soteria It's your deliverance It's your healing Your prosperity In your heart you have to believe That you are his righteousness Because that gives you the legal grounds Then you begin to speak the word Hallelujah So healing is your portion I'm telling you If you are sick tonight I'll just let you put your hands where you are sick And declare Lord I am the righteousness of God in Christ Because it is my covenant will I not break God can't break God cannot break his covenant Healing is yours So you take your healing And you begin to live as healed Praise God Hallelujah Alright How about life's challenges Life's challenges Do you remember that When this The covenant Do you remember that they exchanged weapons Weapons And I said weapons stands for Power and protection Power and protection It means if you are in a war He is in a war So whenever he hears that there is an outbreak of war He gathers his men and comes to fight for you Because actually it is his war That's the covenant How about when you are in life's challenges You are facing challenges in life The battles of life Normally you just go through You bear it Alright But you can have victory in the midst of those challenges Do you know that you can actually Activate the covenant in the midst of the troubles By declaring your righteousness The righteousness which is of faith speaketh If you declare your righteousness You activate the covenant You are saying that God This battle is not my battle It is your battle Because of the covenant If God be for us who can be against us That means that God shows up to fight in the battle Ah the Lord shall fight for you And he shall hold your peace That's what it means Yeah So if you in the midst of the troubles And the challenges You are going through In a covenant His battle Your battle is his battle So confess your righteousness by faith And God will take over Then you remember that The exchange together Which speaks of provision It is part of the covenant To receive divine provision It is yours So activate the covenant By confessing your righteousness in Christ Because Whatever belongs to God belongs to you For the covenant The promise that he should Inherit the world Was not to Abraham and to his seed Through earning and deserving Through the system of earning and deserving Through the law But through Speaking and believing Through the righteousness of faith The righteousness which is of faith speaketh Keep speaking the word We also have in the same spirit of faith According as it is written I believe therefore I have spoken So we believe therefore we speak You cannot have faith Whilst your mouth is shut Praise God Now faith is used four times for our salvation It is used twenty times for our righteousness In the New Testament So the place to exercise your faith Is to believe who you are in Christ As his righteousness Hallelujah Praise the Lord It activates the covenant It activates the covenant All things are yours The Bible says so All things are yours All things are yours Because you are his righteousness All things are yours All things are yours All things are yours Hallelujah Say all things are mine So whenever you declare his righteousness You are activating a covenant Because it is the covenant of righteousness The word righteousness Means covenant justice God is just to fulfill his covenant Part of the covenant So declare your righteousness by faith Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah What is the gospel verse 17 What is the gospel verse 17 For therein That's the gospel Is the righteousness of God Revealed From faith to faith The gospel is a revelation Of the righteousness of God Praise God The gospel unveils The righteousness of God As it is written The NET version says The righteous by faith shall live In the Greek it's in the reverse It says the just shall live No that's not the Greek The Greek says The righteous by faith shall live Those who know they are righteous by faith They will live And the word live here is Zawo From Zawo But Zawo means Recovery from sicknesses and diseases Zawo means the enjoyment of the physical life And the maintenance of the physical life So those who know they are righteous by faith They will enjoy life Because all things are yours too The righteousness of faith Hallelujah Praise God Hallelujah You can activate the covenant With your mouth Because in the covenant all things are yours And let me tell you something This righteousness is such a blessing Once you are conscious of it Your love for Jesus begins to increase It begins to increase Praise God Only one person was quite a friend of God In the whole Bible Only one person Moses was not quite a friend of God Though he had encounters with God David was not A man of the God's own heart But he wasn't God's friend Why? The only person who was called God's friend Three times was Abraham Why? Why was Abraham called a friend of God? James 2.23 Look at James 2.23 Why was Abraham called a friend of God? For the scripture was fulfilled Which saith Abraham believed God And it was imputed to him for righteousness And he was called a friend of God The reason why Moses was not called God's friend David was not called God's friend Because they were under the law The law doesn't make friends The law will disqualify you The law will condemn the best of men Grace will justify the worst of men Yeah Do you know why? How many of you want to fall in love with Jesus? So to be friends with God Listen God is faithful by whom you were called Unto the fellowship of his son Jesus Christ Do you know what it means? He didn't say you were called to the fellowship with his son The fellowship of his son The same fellowship Jesus had with the father From eternity That fellowship he had with the father We have been granted the privilege to enjoy that same fellowship The fellowship of the father The fellowship of the son Because we have been brought to the place of his son Do you know how you can know Jesus very well? How many of you want to know Jesus? Philippians 3 Philippians 3 Look at verse 9 Look at verse 9 Look at Paul's heart desire And be found in him Not having my own righteousness That's a self-righteousness That's a self-righteousness Which is of the law But that which is true The faith of Christ This is what Paul wanted The righteousness which is of God by faith The one we receive by gift There is kolonde So he wanted to lay hold of the righteousness which is by faith For what reason? There is a kolonde For what reason? The next verse That I may know him If you are conscious of this righteousness You become intimate with Jesus If you don't know your righteousness Every day you will disqualify yourself Every day you will disqualify yourself Just one wrong thought will tell you you are a sinner But God never sees you like that Hallelujah Praise God Isaiah 54 verse 14 14 That verse is so nice That verse is Look In righteousness shall thou be established What is the result? Thou shalt be far from oppression If you know that This is your righteousness Oppression will be far from you Hallelujah Now what is the reason Why is it that no weapon formed against you will prosper? Look at verse 17 There is only one reason Why no weapon formed against you will prosper Verse 17 No weapon formed against thee shall prosper And every tongue that shall rise up against thee in judgment Shalt thou condemn This is the inheritance of the servant of the Lord And their righteousness Hallelujah - Hallelujah, hallelujah. praise God hallelujah say I'm righteous by faith that confession glorifies God it glorifies what Jesus has done you see we are the circumcision we don't trust in the flesh we don't trust in ourselves you know pride is flesh pride and grace are enemies because God resisted the proud and give grace to the humble like oil and water don't mix pride says I did it it's flesh but condemnation too says I didn't do it condemnation is what I should have done pride is what I did condemnation is what I should have done they are all I, I, I condemnation is flesh, pride is flesh they are all self-focused righteousness of faith is that we are circumcised we don't lean on the flesh again we give glory to Jesus it's what Jesus has done it's not us again it's not us again there are some people who they are looking for application they get to the office they look at their beauty and they feel that their beauty can open doors for them or their addressing or their fairness can compensate for their failure or can open doors for them it is trusting in the flesh we don't trust in the flesh we trust in him alone he is the one who opens doors for us we trust in his grace we trust in his grace we trust in his grace praise God we rest in him and on him and he fights our battles for us say I am the righteousness of God in Christ now whichever area you are believing God for I want you to just begin to see it begin to pray and begin to confess your righteousness to activate the covenant you are activating the covenant of righteousness the covenant of grace is the covenant of righteousness if you are sick here you just have to confess it and begin to declare your healing situations are about to over 10 over 10 over 10 over 10 over 10 the righteousness of God in Christ the righteousness of God in Christ thank you Jesus thank you Jesus Thank you.
PodcastTranscript AI