A Covenant Through Sacrifice

Psalm 50:5 New King James Version (NKJV)

5 “Gather My saints together to Me,

Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”

For those of you who do not know in this season of my life God has shown me a glorious and prosperous future, yet, has brought me to a complete to a standstill. My current circumstances do not communicate victory, nor that a future as bright as He promised is possible. Upon His instruction I am not working, I now have less money in my bank account than when I was a child, I face bills I cannot pay which seem to be increasing daily.
I am in the midst of spiritual battles and warfare, with painful revelation upon painful revelation because He has said "the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32), and despite all of this God has told me "be still, and know that I am God".

As many others I am sure, I had wrestled with the apparent notion that immediately I truly accepted Jesus as my Lord and savior of my soul, things seem to have gotten worse, and not better. I have scrambled looking to verse upon verse, of God's promises and despite my pleas, despite my prayers will all supplication and thanksgiving I am still in the midst of my troubles. 

Then, in the depths of my despair on the 20th May consumed by all that seemed to be against me, God brought me to a stand still with Psalms 50:5. (because of the opposition I faced in sharing this with you, it is only today, 3rd June, that I have composed and shared this with you all.).

I wrote at length about being saved, but not born again, these two things: the covenant through sacrifice and taking up your cross, are interwoven and so I direct you to my other post where I detailed this at length.

Struggle is often about perspective and understanding. My struggle was rooted in not being able to reconcile the multitude of places in the Bible whether its: Deuteronomy 28, Malachi 3:10, Jeremiah 29:11, Psalms 35:27 and so much more, saying God wants to prosper us and more so, he delights in doing so, with the fact that I am at my worst.

I was ecstatic when He shared with me a vision of my future, a prosperous one, yet I struggled with sorrow day to day. Why was this happening to me?

There are so many examples within the Bible of this exact thing happening. Did God not make David a king, yet look at all that he had to endure before he could access the promise: Saul tried to kill him relentlessly, he was in the wilderness and exile for a time, he had to reside in the land of the enemy, all his things were stolen, basically a civil war and so much more. Then there is Job, Abraham, Noah, Moses, Joshua and more recently we can even look to TD Jakes the experience he suffered in his "crushing".                     

In Psalms 50:5, God says that He establishes a covenant through sacrifice. This establishment of a covenant, or agreement, is effectively what allows us to benefit from the goodness of God:
Hebrews 11:17-18 New International Version (NIV)

17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.
Abraham gained access to the promise through his sacrifice. Imagine his despair, this was his legitimate son, the son of promise whom God called his only son and yet God was asking him to allow him to die...(Here is a revelation from the Holy Spirit. Does this not sound like what God did for us when He allowed Jesus to die on a cross? This one moment kick started the redemption plan for all mankind, the lamb that was slain in substitution was Jesus in eternity (this may well be spiritual hard food! So if you do not believe then continue to seek God and test all things!!))

Such is the consistency of God, that through the Bible we we may test all things.

We establish a covenant with God through a spiritual crucifixion which is to die and be born again with Christ (Colossians 2:12), for:

John 4:23-24 New King James Version (NKJV)

23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

So we must come to God in spirit not the flesh. So in confessing with the mouth that Christ is Lord and he overcame death through resurrection (Romans 10:9-10) we are saved, but if you want to establish a covenant with God that allows you to truly benefit in his promise this requires sacrifice (Psalms 50:5).

Again test this, is it not written:

Romans 12 New King James Version (NKJV)
Living Sacrifices to God
12 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.


Why Does God Do This?

1 Peter 1:6-7 New King James Version (NKJV)
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been [a]grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 

Our faith is all about relationship with God. God wants to know that you are serving Him not because of the promises of abundance, but out of love for God, for God is love (1 John 4:8). 

So if like me you were wondering, why is this happening to me? For what is this season of suffering. Take heart knowing you are not alone, that your suffering has a purpose and a blessing at the end of it. That God loves you and knowing all things wants you to endure that renew your heart and mind towards Him. 

That when you come to serve it is for relationship and not for reward.