You are called to move beyond a consumer mindset that seeks only comfort and satisfaction. Instead, commit to a covenant relationship where you serve the body of Christ even when it challenges your preferences. This week, identify the local church God has called you to and plug in fully.
What is up? Thank you for tuning in to the Real Church podcast. We pray you walk away from today encouraged and with a deeper understanding of how much God loves you. Today, we're continuing the "I love you" series with part 6. How do we say I love you to God through *covenant relationships*?
It's gonna be awesome. I know it's gonna help you, and this is really practical too. So buckle up. Let's hear it. Okay.
So, we are in the middle of a series titled I Love You. Have you guys enjoyed the series so far? Yeah. Yeah? Good.
I was hoping you wouldn't say no. It wouldn't be good. But we're in part 6 of the I love you series, and with every message, we say this, and I'm gonna say it again so you get it deep down in your soul. The premise of it, why we're doing this, is God has forever declared, I love you. He's forever declared it.
In 1 John-4:9-10, the Bible says, this is how God showed his love among us. He sent his 1 and only son into the world that we might live through him. Wasn't just for the sweet by and by eternal life. Yeah. That's important and that's amazing.
But, He sent His Son in the world also so that we might live through Him. Regardless of what's going on in the in the midst of your circumstance, God has forever declared He loves you and He wants you to experience His life in you so that He can lead you through what you're going through. So, you can experience His goodness now, and relationship with Him now, and He can walk with you through the trial. Ain't that awesome? This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Period. *God* has forever declared his love for us in that. We have no excuse to doubt it. The only reason that we would doubt his love is because of circumstance or because of yeah, circumstance is is ignorance, not knowing. But, you guys know.
I told you. Mhmm. So, it can't be that anymore. So then, the only reason we would doubt his love is unbelief. That's it.
And my prayer is that we would grow in our understanding of his love day in and day out, so we're no longer unbelieving believers. You know? Amen. I think that hit that 1 hit hard. Are you guys okay with that?
Yeah. Yeah? Because, a lot of times when we're going through stuff, you know, the way that we respond is based on our "deep down beliefs". And sometimes, the way that we speak and sometimes the way that we act, we we need to go back and hit, wait a second, God really does love me. I don't have to respond this way.
I'm actually free from that. You know? Because he set me free. So, changing our mindset to what he said. You guys good with that now?
Yeah. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. It's a big deal. Okay. So, because He's forever declared His love for us, period.
*1 John-4* 19 says, we love because He first loved us. So, when we see and we receive His love, our love is a response to our understanding of His love. And, then, the question is, then how do we say, I love you too? Right? And, each each week we've said I love you too through prayer, through fasting, through prayer again, through worship.
We we had some testimonies of I love you last week. And, this week, today, we're talking about how we say I love you too in the context of *covenant relationships*. **covenant relationships**. If you'd like to take notes on this message, you can. Right?
Pen, paper, it's awesome. Or, we have we have notes on our website. You can go to realchurch.us on your phone or on Facebook live, YouTube as well. I have a link for the notes there, so you can find that. And, it'll pull up all the scriptures.
You can take notes in real time. It'll save to your Bible app, which is a really cool feature. Technology is awesome. It can be used to spread the gospel. Amen?
Amen. So, *covenant relationships*. The fabric of the kingdom of heaven is made up of relationships. If He God wants to get something done, He does it through relationships. The foundation is Jesus.
Right? He builds off of relationships. And, the way that the kingdom of heaven does relationships is *covenant*. Understanding covenant is difficult in our culture. We don't talk about covenant a lot, do we?
Yeah. In our normal conversation, we don't cut covenants with 1 another. Not normally. Right? It's just not a a consistent thing that we do.
So we're probably gonna have to break this apart and understand it, and maybe even flip our mindset on how we approach relationships, because we're so used to approaching them in a different way, which we're going to talk about. So, what is covenant? It's not exactly a modern thing. In Deuteronomy-29:12-13, it says this, you are standing here. This is God and Moses, and he's talking with the people.
You are standing here in order to enter into a covenant. Everybody say covenant. Covenant. With the Lord your God, a covenant. Say it again.
*Covenant*. Good. The Lord is making with you this day and sealing with an oath. 1 aspect of covenant is this oath. It's the it's a legal thing.
Because it's legal, it's it's unbreakable, or at least it's supposed to be. It's legally binding. You're not supposed to be able to get out of a covenant. Yep. So, it's this language of law.
Verse 12 verse 13, to confirm you this day as His people. Everybody say, His. His. That He may be your God. Everybody say, your.
Your. As He promised you, and He swore, and as He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Also, in a covenant, you see these personal possessive pronouns. 3 p's fast. Personal possessive pronouns.
The the intimacy that a covenant brings brings on these when you when you see possessive pronouns, it's kind of the language of intimacy. Like, baby, would you stand up? Courtney, would you please? Look at her. Would you guys give her a hand?
She's awesome. She's wonderful. She's she's carrying my fourth child. That's my wife. My family.
I am her husband. Right? You you hear the possessive pronoun in that? There's a language of intimacy in covenant. You can be seated beautiful.
There's a language of yeah. She's awesome. There's a language of intimacy in covenant. So, it's this counter cultural combination of law and love. It's a countercultural combination of legality, legal, but yet intimate relationships.
And it's kinda hard to understand. A covenant is way more intimate and personal than any legal relationship you've ever seen, and yet, it's so much more unbreakable and enduring than any personal relationship you've ever seen. It's more intimate and personal because of the lasting legal demand to stay together. For instance, in a marriage, when you say the oath, I do "till death do us part", it's covenant language. Right?
So, in a marriage, that kind of covenant language, it instantly causes the other person, once that's done, or both people to be more free, and able to be more personal, able to be themselves, able to kind of let go a little bit. Have you ever seen in a marriage or when somebody gets married, all of the sudden, the person begins to understand some things about the other person that they didn't know before? It's because they don't feel like they have to put on a show anymore. Because of the legality, the unbreakableness of the covenant of the the the legal demand, the legal bindingness. Now, that person feels like, wait a second, they're not going anywhere.
I can really be me. But, also, with a covenant, the intimacy of covenant, in marriage, it's sex, the intimacy of that causes there to be a even greater unbreakableness and a greater bindingness between the 2. The more intimate you are, the harder it is to part ways. Makes sense? That's covenant.
It's important. And, it's the way that the kingdom operates. The perfect blend of law and love. We are created for covenant relationships. First with God, and then also, all of our relationships should mirror covenant.
Our relationship with our spouse, relationship with our friends. Obviously, not the same level of intimacy with our spouse, but our relationship with our friends and our relationship with the church. Amen? Okay. So, in covenant, we have to understand our covenant with God first.
And once we understand our covenant with God, then we can understand our covenant *relationships* with 1 another. Because Ephesians-5:1 says, and I know I'm I'm gonna be teaching a lot here. Okay? But, it's going to hit home at the end. Alright?
So, just stay with me through the teaching process. But, Ephesians-5:1 says, we're to be imitators of God. So, as He is in covenant with us, we're supposed to respond in covenant and then be in covenant with 1 another. K? So, in that, there's a mystery at the heart of covenant.
*Blessings* and curses. You know, we see that in the covenant that he took with the law. You got blessings, you're blessed if you do, and you're cursed if you don't. And, it's very important. People read the Bible 1 of 2 ways.
The blessings are conditional. So, either people think, a lot of times, people think the blessings are conditional. So, in the end, you must obey or you're out. Or, people read the Bible through the the thought process of God accepts us no matter what, so I can do whatever I want because of, you know, God loves God loves everybody type of deal. In our heads, we think those types things.
We either God either loves me no matter what, or I have to be really, really, really obedient in order to receive all of those things. But, there's a problem with both of those way of thinking. And there's an answer. And the answer is this, God loves us. And number 2, God invites us into covenant with him.
So we have to shift our perception of what that *relationship* looks like. You guys ready to dive in? Yes. Alright. Cool.
Let me give you that example of covenant. In Deuteronomy-29:13 or verses 12 and 13, *God is is cutting a covenant and it's it's the same or he's reminding them of a covenant, and it's the covenant that he cut with Abraham* back in the day, back in Genesis-15. And, this is the covenant. I know I'm using this word over and over, but it's on purpose. This is the covenant that we're invited into by faith, So, we must understand the legality of the covenant, and we must understand the intimacy of the covenant.
And, it's amazing. So, let's go to *Genesis-15* so we can talk about this. Stick with me. *Genesis-15* verse 4 says, then the word of the Lord came to him, this man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir. This is Abraham, our God talking to Abraham.
He took him outside and said, look up at the sky and "count the stars", if indeed you can count them. Then he said to him, so shall your offspring be. Abraham believed the Lord and he credited it to him as righteousness. That's awesome. By the way, just as a little tidbit there, when you believe the word of God to you, you're believing in Jesus because Jesus is the word, and it's credited to you as righteousness, as right standing with God.
Not based on what you did or didn't do, but based on the fact that God spoke his word to you and you believed it. Amen. That's awesome. Put a fork in the religious man. He's done.
I receive it, Jesus. It's awesome. Okay. Verse 8. But *Abraham said, sovereign Lord*, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?
Verse 9. So the Lord said to him, bring me a heifer. I don't know. I just laughed when I read that. Yeah.
Our elder said he did too. *God*, how am I gonna know you're gonna do this? Bring me a heifer. Yes, Lord. Bring me a heifer, a goat, it's a cow, and a ram, each 3 years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.
*Abraham* brought all these to him, cut them into and arranged the halves opposite of each other. The birds, however, he did not cut in half. It's a pretty bloody situation. The birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abraham drove them away. As the sun was setting, Abraham fell into a deep sleep, and a thick dreadful darkness came over him.
Let's skip down to verse 17. When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking fire pot with a blazing torch appeared and passed in between the pieces. That's the pieces of animals cut in 2. Once again, it's a bloody situation. On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram.
Okay. You know, used to when I I read this this passage growing up, I'm like, I was fascinated by this smoking fire pot and blazing torch. What in the world does that mean? Like, a smoking fire pot and blazing torch came and went in between these 2 big pieces of animals or multiple types of animals. I was like, God, that's awesome.
Like, but what is that? And, well, you think about the the Israelites being led by day, by by a cloud, and by night, by a pillar of fire. It's it represents the very presence of God. This was God walking through the pieces of animals. And, when when God told Abram to to do this, Abram would have understand what he was doing.
Like, cutting a covenant is normal 4, 6000 years ago, 4000 years ago. Like, this this was a normal thing. This is what they did. And, even in some places in remote Africa, people still cut covenants today. It's important to understand what is going on.
Let me just let me explain to you. Like, if a man back in the day was going to cut a covenant, a lot of times it would be a big deal, so maybe with a chief or with a king. You know, he was gonna do something. Basically, by cutting the covenant, the man would would cut it and then he would walk through it. Usually, the king would not walk through it, especially if he was an evil king, he would not walk through it.
By cutting this thing, what he's saying is, king, if I don't hold to my end of the agreement, then may my body be split in 2, my guts spew out, and the jackals come and eat my flesh, and the birds of prey snack on whatever's left. Like, it's a serious deal. The evil king, most of the time would not walk through it. Basically, what he was saying is, hey, and if I don't keep my end of the deal, and you try to hold me accountable, may your body be split in 2, and may the the jackals come and eat your flesh and the guts spill out. Make sense?
Like, this is this is really intense stuff. But yet, this is very important to understand. Jews who don't believe in Jesus, Jewish theologians agree that this covenant is 1 of the, if not the most important part of the Pentateuch, the most important part of the Old Testament. But yet, they're dumbfounded by what it seems to be saying, because it's important. *Abraham* was caused to fall asleep, and *God* Himself walked through the pieces.
What God was saying was, Abraham, if I don't keep my end of the covenant, if I don't bless you, if I don't the blessing in Genesis-12. If I don't bless you, I don't make your name great, if I don't cause, you know, your descendants to be as numerous as the the stars in the heaven. The same covenant that we entered into by faith, by receiving Jesus. God saying, if I don't do this, then may my body be ripped in 2. May my guts spew out.
Right? May the jackals come and eat my flesh. That's what God was saying. Now, Jewish theologians won't have that much problem with that because God's perfect. So, he's gonna keep his end of the covenant.
No big deal. But, the problem they have is that God didn't make Abraham walk through it. By not making Abraham walk through this, what God was saying was not only if I don't hold my end of the bargain, Abraham, but Abraham, if you don't hold your end of the bargain, then may my body be broken too, and my guts be spoiled out for your sin. God was saying, I'm gonna and Abraham and his descendants are destined to fail because of sin inside of them. God was saying, I'm going to "lay down my life" for you.
That's the covenant. 2000 years later, it happened. Jesus, God incarnate, Son of God, God in the flesh, became a man, lived a perfect life, didn't deserve to sin, or didn't deserve to die, and died on the cross for us because he loved us, because God made a covenant and he holds up his end of the bargain. Not only that, sword, spear at his side, his guts flow of, you know, his water and blood gushed out. He held up his end of the bargain.
He was paying for us. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Because I made a *covenant* and I hold to it. Covenant's a big deal. Pretty amazing.
Right? *Jesus was cut off and torn to pieces. Galatians-3:13-14*. Do we have that? Yeah.
*Christ redeemed* us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone who is "hung on a pole" or hung on a tree. He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles, that's us, through Christ Jesus. So, the the conditions, the blessings and curses that I said were part of the mystery, *God*'s a legal God? Like, how how do you have this loving, seemingly loving father in in the New Testament, but you seemingly have this judge, this righteous judge and holding people accountable for their sins?
He's the same. He is a loving father and he's a righteous judge, and he completely holds sin accountable and he still does. But the beauty of it is Jesus took our place and became the curse for us so we can receive his unconditional blessing. Isn't that amazing? That's how much God loves us?
Wow. So God takes serious *covenants*, and the legal portion is taken care of in Christ. And when we see the seriousness of covenant, it helps us to understand his love for us. We can't completely understand the gospel without understanding covenant relationships, which is why I'm teaching on it. Yeah.
So this changes things. We're supposed to be imitators of God, so we're supposed to relate to him with that same type of covenant love, but also, *Philippians-2:5 says, we're supposed to have the same mindset as Christ Jesus towards others in relations and your relationships have the same mindset as that of Christ Jesus. So, we're supposed to have a covenant based mindset*, not a consumer based mindset. Now, our culture, American culture, here's where it gets a little practical, guys. American culture is consumer.
It just is. It's what we do. That's how we approach everything, most Americans. Right? It's a consumer based mindset.
Consumer is, I'll be what I ought to be, as long as, and to the extent that you're being what you ought to be. But, as soon as you're not, I'm out. Consumer based relationships, both covenant and consumer, are you you there's satisfaction and fulfillment in both of them. But a consumer based relationship, satisfaction and fulfillment is the end goal. The relationship is just a means to it, to the end.
Meaning, I'm gonna be in this relationship as long as I'm getting my satisfaction and fulfillment. But if I'm not getting satisfaction and fulfillment, then I'm out because it's a consumer relationship. *Covenant* relationship, satisfaction and fulfillment is part of the process, but the goal is the relationship itself. You see the difference? Let me put it to you maybe maybe even more practically in an exam an example.
What's your favorite restaurant? Come on, let me hear you. What's your favorite restaurant?
Red Lobster. Alright.
We'll go with you, Loretta. Red Lobster. She's the closest. Why do you like Red Lobster? I like seafood.
You like seafood. Right? Is it good food? Is it good seafood? So, you love you like the cheddar biscuits too.
Right? Oh, yeah. Everybody likes the cheddar biscuits and red lobster. Okay. So, you go there because it satisfies and fulfills your your desire for good service and good food.
Yeah. Exactly.
Alright. Cool. Alright. Let's say the next couple times you go back, the waitresses are horrible, the food takes an hour, and they get rid of the cheddar biscuits. And, wait, wait, wait, and the shrimp comes out cold and old.
I'm going to the Cheddar's. Mean, Chili's.
Are you going back to Red Lobster? No. She's not going back to Red Lobster because it's a consumer relationship. She was there as long as she was satisfied and fulfilled. But, as soon as her satisfaction and fulfillment was gone, the relationship was gone.
*Lord*, help us. Because a lot of times, we approach God in a consumer relationship. God, I'm here as long as you give me the tingles, as long as I feel good. I'll worship you as long as it makes me feel better. I'll read your Bible as long as I see, you know, that this is applying to my life, but if I don't feel like I understand it, nah, I ain't reading it.
I'll pray as long as I see answers to my prayers in my timing too. But, if I don't see them in my timing, then I'm done. Yep. If this ain't working for me in 2 weeks, I'm out. That's a consumer relationship.
We're not made for He didn't make us and invite us into a consumer based relationship. Because, when you have 2 parties in a relationship, that's what it takes by, for instance, you have to have at least 2 parties relationship. If 1 is covenant and the other is consumer, then the covenant partner is being exploited. We're made to be both in covenant with 1 another. Meaning, I see you laid your life down for me.
Oh my oh my gosh. Now, I wanna lay my life down for you. *Jesus* said, you can't follow me unless you first deny your Pick up your cross and and follow me. Can't be my disciple unless you do that. Right?
Wow. That's what it looks like. So then, a covenant based relationship with God looks like this. I see the circumstances. I don't feel good right now.
As a matter of fact, don't feel like going to church. I don't feel like reading my word. I don't feel like doing any of that, but you tell me to do that. So I'm a lay down my feelings to follow you because I know satisfaction and fulfillment will come, but I trust you and I'm more about knowing you than I am about getting what I
need. What
about marriage? Man, American culture is so used to consumer based marriages. I'll be what I ought to be, as long as and to the extent that you are what you ought to be. But, as soon as you stop, I'm stopping. As long as this and that and the other, I'm being satisfied and fulfilled.
My needs are being met. But as soon as my needs aren't being met, I'm out. That's consumer. And, you're destined for divorce. Because, when you're both consuming, you're depleting.
And, when you're depleted, it's over. *Covenant* says, I'll be what I ought to be even if you're not being what you ought to be. Covenant says, I'll lay my life down for you. Covenant says, even though I don't feel like it right now, even though it doesn't even though it doesn't feel good, and even though you're screwing up, I'm still gonna love you and lay my life down for you. But, they need to do it first.
No. You need to do it first. Somebody's got to, and God did it first for us, so we could do it first for everybody else. Which is awesome. And guess what?
When you love that way, here's what will happen. *God*'s love through you will impact that other person and change them from the inside out. And, they will either stay with you or run from you, because light hits darkness, and darkness either flees or is expelled, or it like comes to the light. Right? Becomes light.
So, you start being the light, your spouse is destined to change, or they will run, 1 or the other. And, man, I'm gonna love Jesus more than I love my spouse. I'm I'm committed in covenant first to Christ, then my spouse. And, I'm gonna serve him, and as I do, my relationship is gonna be so much better. In covenant, non consumer.
And, if I if she starts consuming, that just gives me an opportunity more and more to be in covenant. And, man, it's beautiful when both are in covenant together, both laying their life down for 1 another, that's where it gets like heaven. That's where you have those amazing relationships. And, it's it's not about, oh, I need, I need, I need anymore, but it's about how can I serve you? How can I love you?
That's awesome. Friendships. Consumer. So often, I'm only gonna be your friend because this friendship benefits me. You don't say that, but a lot of people think it.
Maybe they don't think it's, but subconsciously, that's the way they live. I'm only gonna be your friend because I'm satisfied and fulfilled being around you. But, as soon as you start offending me, as soon as you're not benefiting me in some kind of way, as soon as this friendship takes effort, I'm out. That's consumer. Jesus is a friend that "sticks closer than a brother" because he's in covenant.
What kind of friendships do we have? *Covenant* friendships. We're to be the covenant friend even if the other's not. Does that mean you get exploited? Sometimes.
But, you also "speak truth". And, sometimes, because you love someone so much to speak truth, they get offended and they're a consumer so they leave. But, if they're really a covenant friend, they're gonna what say, wait a second, he loves me enough to speak that truth to me? Oh my gosh. That's awesome.
Man, I probably need to hold this friend close. *Covenant* friends don't always tell you what you wanna hear. That's true. But, they love you enough to lay down their pride and ego of having to to you to like them enough to tell you what you need to hear because they love you.
I
told you it's gonna get practical. Church, we're so used to a consumer relationship when it comes to church, and that's evil. I'm a say that again. That's evil. I'm only going to church because it feels good.
I like the music. I like the preaching. When I walk away, I feel satisfied. But, as soon as they offend me, or that pastor says something that gets on my nerves, or that pastor doesn't call me, or those people don't call me, or those people whatever, I'm gonna get offended, I'm gonna leave. That's consumer.
And, you're being consumer with the body of Christ, which means how you treat the church is how you treat Jesus. Yep. How you treat how you neglect the church is how you neglect Jesus because the church is the body of Christ. I love you enough to tell you this. If you hate me after this, I'm sorry.
We're not called to be in a consumer *relationship* with the church. Sometimes, the church may offend us because it's full of people, and we're supposed to be in covenant relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Lay down our satisfaction and fulfillment, roll up our sleeves, and help that church to grow and get better. Be the covenant relationship that helps that church to be Jesus more clearly because you've been there plugging in for a year, 5 years. Be bearing fruit where you're rooted.
If all you're doing is sucking from your local church, then you're exploiting it. It's time to be in covenant relationship. Father God, I thank you for who you are. *Lord*, I thank you that you love us. Father God, I pray that we see your love so clearly, your covenant that you made with us so clearly, that we run to covenant with you and we exemplify that in every relationship in our lives.
I gotta tell you this, and I'm done. A covenant relationship with the church is this. *God, this is your bride*, and this is your body. What local church do you want me to be a part of? And then, makes it clear where you're supposed to "plug in".
And, it's not exactly your preference. And, it doesn't exactly make you feel good. It's not exactly where you saw yourself in 5 years. And, you say, yes, Lord, because you realize God has put gifts and talents and abilities in you that that church needs as a part of his body, That he's trying to make his body, to wash it with the water of the word that he's put in you, and to make his bride spotless, and you're a piece of that spotlessness at that local body to make it be most effective for his kingdom. That's awesome.
But not only that, he whether you see it or not, he's got people in that body of Christ that have exactly what you need to grow.
Yep. That's right.
Not just the pastor. So, if that's here, praise the Lord. And, if it's not, praise the Lord. I don't want you just because to have an extra number. I want you to be plugged in to the body of Christ that God's called you to be plugged into, so his kingdom can be most effective around the world.
Amen. You're welcome here though. If that's where he called you. I don't care what you look like, what you smell like, what you it doesn't matter. Where you come from, your your socioeconomic status, doesn't matter to me.
*God* takes care of us. He takes care of his body and it's awesome. Thank you for tuning in today to the Real Church podcast. I pray that you walk away from today encouraged with a deeper understanding of how much God loves you. If you'd like to connect with us, we can't wait to reach out to you and pray for you.
You can go to www.realchurch.us/connect. And then also, if you would like to give to what God is doing in and through our ministry, you can do so at www.realchurch.us/giving, or you can text any amount to 84321, and then just search in the link that comes up. Search for Real Church Lord. God bless you, and the "best is yet to come".