You got married, now what… You had your first child, now what… You got a new job, now what… You moved to a new area, now what… You retired, now what…. Life is full of “Now Whats”…When you come to the end of one thing and the beginning of another!
Hebrews 10:35 “Do not throw away your confidence, which has great recompense of reward (mis-thap-od-os-ee'-ah…compensation for loss or harm suffered or good faith effort made). v36 For you have need of patience, that, after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise.” I came across this little diddy and thought it was cute…It’s a child trying to remember her bible stories. “In the beginning, which was close to the start, there wasn't anything except God, darkness and some gas. The Bible says, "The Lord, thy God, is one," but I think He has to be much older than that. Anyway, God made the world and then He said, "Give me some light," and somebody gave it to Him. He split an atom and made Eve. Adam and Eve didn't wear any clothes, but they weren't embarrassed because God hadn't invented mirrors, yet. Adam and Eve sinned by eating one bad apple and they were driven out of the Garden of Eden. I'm not sure what God drove them in, it must have been made from a tree like in the Flintstones. Adam and Eve's son, Cain, hated his brother as long as he was Abel. After a while, all of the first people died, except Methuselah, who lived to be, as old as God”. Speaking of remembering your bible stories…. Did you know that there are three occasions where someone spoke and a terrible storm at sea, that was threatening to sink the boat where everyone was in great danger of perishing, immediately ceased, and the waters became calm…. Yuup, there’s three different accounts…. Of course, we all might think of the one where Jesus woke up from a sound sleep as everyone was crying out in terror, and spoke to the storm and it ceased, and they were all amazed. Then, there is also the account where He walked on the water….
But there is a third account and we are told that when God told Jonah to go to wicked Nineveh and rebuke the evil and perverse people for their degradation and sin…. He went in the opposite direction, to Joppa and while he was sound asleep, a terrible storm came up which threatened to sink the ship. The sailors cried out in terror and began to throw everything overboard to lighten the ship. They woke Jonah up to find out who had cursed their ship. Jonah admits it was him, and said throw me overboard. They did and immediately the sea was calm!
So, in two of the accounts, someone was asleep in the boat, a terrible storm came up which threatened to sink the boat. The crew cried out in terror, a person spoke, the storm immediately calmed…. And you know how with Jonah, God went fishing and used Jonah as bait to catch a big fish!!!
In two of these stories, the storm ceased because of a righteous, obedient person.. But in the story of Jonah, the storm ceased when a disobedient person who was in rebellion against God, got caught.
Some storms won’t stop until rebellion and disobedience stops!
Sometimes God will move to honor obedience and sometimes He will move to correct and recompense disobedience. So be careful that you don’t try to save them from what God is doing or you’ll be pulled into their storm!!!…..When disobedience is recompensed, it is so that they might receive the promise that is attached to God’s will for their life that they are running from!
What’s interesting is that Jonah’s name means “Son of Faithfulness”… So the covenant he had with God was based on his name, but God had to bring him full circle in order to bless him by the name he had as a covenant sign between himself and God.
Listen, there are a lot of children like Jonah, who have gone in the opposite direction, from the covenant that is upon them, and run right into a storm, because of the faith and prayers of a Mom and Dad…. That covenant is taken very seriously by God….
When I was a kid, I couldn’t get away with nothing! Other kids could slide and never get caught…. I always got caught and God always had someone there to stop me short! I complained to God about it, and one day my adopted mom sat me down and told me that shortly after she had taken me, God spoke to her as a new Christian and said. I have given you this one to raise for me. Bring him up to know me and to know my ways. Be more diligent with him, even than your own two children from birth.
I was in every church meeting, Sunday school, Sunday AM and PM service, Wednesday service, Friday youth meeting, and if we had a two week revival, I was there every night! I was caught in a covenant!
God knows how to catch a Jonah, and bring him around to the covenant that is his God ordained destiny! Someone had to do the will of God in order for Jonah to get back into the will of God…. The folks who threw Jonah out of the boat did the will of God…. Because Jonah wasn’t supposed to be on that boat anyway!
My prayer is that none of my family will fail to see the covenant fulfilled that I have with God concerning their lives and their destiny. No matter how many boats they have to be thrown out of!
Let me insert something which I believe is very important here while I’m on the subject…..
The titles “Mom”, “Dad”, “Son”, “Daughter”, “Brother”, “Sister”, “Husband”, “Wife”, and “Grandma” and “Grandpa”, are powerful titles which declare that you are authorized by heaven and have legal authority spiritually, to speak into and to influence the lives of those who are in the family covenant. So understand and appreciate the power of these titles which are terms of permission and jurisdiction which your family members use all the time… without realizing it, they are releasing your God given covenant authority in their behalf…. (How many here are included in one of those titles)
Just believe and stand on Acts 16:31 “And they (Paul and Silas) said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and all your house”.
Acts 11:13 “And he (Cornelius the Roman Centurion) shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood there and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter. v14 Who shall tell you the words, whereby you and all your house shall be saved”.
God has a covenant with every believing family member for their entire household! We need to understand the power of family covenants. Little Johnny was confused about it…. At church they shared how God created everything, including human beings. Little Johnny seemed especially intent when they told him how Eve was created out of one of Adam’s ribs.Later in the week his mother noticed him lying down as he experienced some pain in his stomach, and she said, ‘Johnny, what is the matter?’ Johnny said, ‘I think I’m going to have a wife.’
Here’s a family covenant for you to stand on….1Corinthians 7:13 “And the woman which has a husband that does not believe, if he is willing to dwell with her, let her not leave him. v14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the believing husband, otherwise the children would be unclean, but through the believer, they are holy”. (That’s covenant)
This is describing the influence which believing family members in covenant relationship, have with God for all of their family!
And please, don’t feel that you have no faith if you are being beaten, abused, and being used as a door mat….and say “No More”.. In the next verse Paul says that if they depart they are not under bondage, since every one of us must stand before God for ourselves, not the choices of others. So, remember Paul encouraged us by all means bring some to Christ….. Each person must know for themselves what “by all means” really means!
Let me tell you about Eric… Eric was a man whose life was constantly plagued with poverty, disease, and hardship. He always seemed just within reach of succeeding at something, but just at the final moment, the elusive prize would escape him. He never had enough money to get the medical help he needed. He had to work at whatever odd jobs he could, to feed his sickly parents, so he never got an education which would qualify him for a better paying job.
Twice in his life he was on the verge of being recognized for something significant he had done, which would turn his life around, but both times someone else took credit for his accomplishments, and since he had no credentials, no one believed him anyway. When he died at the age of 75, only a handful of people came to the funeral. One of them, a nephew, was given the task of going through his belongings, which didn’t take very long.
On a table next to his bed, Eric had carefully placed a book. Taped to the cover was a note from his grandmother. It read: "Here is something to make your life a little better." Just before Eric died, the nephew had noticed the book and asked him about it. He just said, "It’s a pretty good book, but it’s really old. I never finished reading it, It’s something my grandmother left me. She seemed to think a lot of it. You can have it when I’m gone, if you want it."
The day after the funeral, the nephew, in a hurry to leave town, grabbed the book and took it home. Later, he picked up the book and decided to look at it. Something about it seemed unusual. Taped to the back cover was a letter from Eric’s grandmother… a letter Eric had never bothered to open and read. The letter said….
Dear Eric….You have suffered enough. This book is your ticket to a whole new world. This book is the only copy of its kind in the world. It is a never-published work of the greatest author of the 16th century. The last time I checked, 30 years ago, it was worth over three million dollars. May you never want for anything you need again. Love, Grandma.
Tucked inside that note, there was a certificate indicating Eric was heir to a line of royalty in a small European country. All he had to do was appear in person with that certificate and be proclaimed a prince, along with the title to a mansion which by that time, had since gone to ruin.
Eric lived and died a pauper. His life was a constant struggle to just survive. But it didn’t have to be that way. He was, in fact, a multi-millionaire. He lived and died a nobody. But he didn’t have to. He was, in fact, royalty. He lived and died, a physical wreck. But he didn’t have to. He possessed enough money to get the finest care in the world.
Eric lived and Eric died. But Eric never appropriated or appreciated who he was or what he had. He was filled with dreams and hopes of glory, he ended up defeated, depressed, and destroyed. Why? Because he never was willing to open up the one book that held the key to his inheritance and his destiny. Rather than face reality, he lived and died owning everything and yet having nothing.
What a sad story. But I know an even sadder one. It’s the story of those who, every day, all year long, never take hold of the inheritance that is rightfully theirs.
God’s covenant with them and their family is that they are joint-heirs with the King, the treasures of heaven are theirs. The title-deed to royalty is recorded neatly within a book; a book left behind as part of their inheritance. But somehow, they live and they die without ever fully grasping just what a treasure they have been given.
We can study it, teach it and even memorize it, and still not grasp what it is that we hold, when we hold God’s priceless book. We may even acknowledge that its author is God Himself. We may keep it in our homes, even buy books that tell us what others think about His book.
But somehow the real power of it escapes us. Somehow, the authority of it escapes us. Somehow, even as we acknowledge our need for it, we do so with a “when I get around to it” attitude and we never do.
We live and we die, with the greatest treasure ever deeded to fallen man in our possession, yet we treat it so casually, we deny it the power to do in our lives what God intended it to do. This covenant book was in force before the world began and it will still be in force when time is no more!
So as my message says “So, What Now”? The good news is that God will do everything possible to honor His covenant which He has made with every believer, with earth and heaven, time and eternity!
Genesis 6:18 “But with you (write your name in there) I will establish my covenant; and you shall come into the ark (which is the covenant), you, and your children, and your wife, and your children’s spouses with you.
Genesis 9:9 “And I, behold, I establish My covenant with you, and with your children after you.”
How do we know this will happen, and can we count on this?....
Nehemiah 1:5 “I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keeps covenant and mercy for them that love Him and do His Word”.
A mother was talking about her son. She pulled out a photo and mentioned what year he was in high school. She said that her son was voted most valuable player on the football team, as she beamed all over. She mentioned his grade point average. She said her son was very popular at school. When she was asked if her boy was a Christian, she looked around and finally said, "Well, I don't know about that. You'll have to ask him." The most important information of all was not important to her……What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul, or what will a man give in exchange for his soul….. A contract is an agreement that can be broken by either party. A covenant, on the other hand, is an agreement that is binding for as long as the originator of the covenant lives. Since all the covenants in the Bible originate with the Lord, then they are forever!
There are generations, some yet unborn, that are depending on your covenant which you have with the Lord!
Don’t be like Bobby, He got to the football game late. His friends asked him, "Why are you so late?" He said, "Well, I couldn't decide between going to church and going to the football game.
’So I decided to toss a coin," "But that shouldn't have taken too long." said the friend. "Man, I had to toss it 50 times before it landed on the correct side”.
How many times must we flip the coin before finally surrendering in God’s favor!
My grandmother prayed every day for her kids, she died not seeing some of them come to Christ and changing their lives. But at her graveside, two of her boys who had continued to rebel up to her death, bowed and gave their lives to Christ. She was dead, but the originator of the contract was still very much alive…..Hallelujah!
Steven Curtis Chapman wrote the words to a song….”So What Now”
“I heard the voice of Jesus, Gently whisper to my heart, Didn’t you say you wanted to find Me? Well here I am and Here you are, So what now? What will you do now that you’ve found Me? What now, what will you do with this treasure you’ve found? I know I may not look like what you expected, But if you’ll remember, this is right where I said I would be. You found Me, so what now?”
There was a church in Denmark where every time the worshippers would enter this little Danish church, they would turn to the right and bow toward the wall. An observer asked why this was done. The only answer he got was, "We've always done it this way." After researching the history of the church, he found that it used to be a Catholic church and that a painting of Mary used to be displayed on that wall. When the church was remodeled, the wall was removed to increase the seating but the people continued to bow toward the wall that was no longer there. After many years, the reason for the practice was forgotten, but the tradition continued. It had become nothing more than a ritual with no meaning.
Flesh, will break it’s promises, religion will fail, but covenant will endure forever! Our covenant with God the originator, is a fresh, living covenant, which is in force this very moment in which we live, and will remain.
Psalm 89:34 God says, “My covenant will I not break, nor change the thing that has gone out of my mouth”.
Psalm 105:8 “He remembers His covenant for ever, the word which He commanded is to a thousand generations”.
Oh Yes, we must include this…… Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever”.
Covenant is not about who we are but it is about who He is!
When faith is weak, covenant is still strong. When hope is withering on the vine, covenant is still strong. When our patience and endurance has come to an end, covenant is still as strong as ever.
When we can see no way, covenant finds a way!!! The believer sees the covenant as done, not something to be done.
God told Moses He would make a covenant with the Jewish people, to bring them out of Egyptian bondage…..Moses went into Egypt, believing it was a done deal! That covenant brought plagues upon the land so that when Pharaoh said “No Way”….. God said “Yes way” …That covenant brought them to the Red Sea, and the armies of Egypt, said “No Way”…. God said “Yes Way”…. And He made a path through the sea… That covenant brought them to a place where they had no food and no water…. The people said “No Way”… and God said “Yes Way”… and He brought manna, quail, and water from a rock. That covenant defeated their enemies, opened Jordan, brought down the walls of Jericho, and defeated the giants of the land…. They all said “No Way”… but God said.. “YES WAY”!!!
And having said all that, there are people and circumstances and doubts and fears that are saying to you…. “NO WAY”…. BUT WHAT IS YOUR ANSWER….. “YES WAY”!!!!
So we quote the word and let God speak. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord of covenant, delivers them out of them ALL”!
So many folks live as though their Christian faith is only one compartment ofall the compartments they are juggling. There’s the work compartment, therecreation and entertainment compartment, Then there’s the family and home compartment, the church compartment, The friends compartment, oh yes, and there is a life fantasy and day dream compartment….. and what’s left over is my Christian Faith compartment…
HELLO"! This isn't a fire-drill! This isn't a dress-rehearsal! This is the real thing! The past lies behind you; and eternity is set before you! The time is short! The supreme Event of history is around the corner! Jesus is standing at the threshold of returning again! It’s time to put all our stuff in the Christian life compartment, without delay.
Now is the time to get dressed up….. (put on the garments of praise, put on the attitude of gratitude, put on the Spirit of worship, put on the towel of the servant, and put on the fruit of the spirit, against which there is no law!
Now is the time to rise up! Go to the next level in discipleship, (whatever that may be from where you are now)…. Rise up and get over yourself, it’s not all about you….(Paul said “for me to live is Christ and to die is gain”) Rise up and step into your God given authority and power (you shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, cast out devils in my name) Rise up and move beyond the fears and doubts and resistance to the Spirit’s voice.
Now is the time to stand up! Paul says “having done all, stand therefore and see the glory of the Lord”. If we spend all our time apologizing for serving the Lord, we will never be able to stand for Him. If we spend all our time worrying about offending someone, we’ll never stand for Him. If we spend all our time fearful that there may be a price for being identified as one of those Christians…. Forget about it, you got tagged as soon as you walked in the doors….
GET DRESSED UP, RISE UP, AND STAND UP…..
400 years ago, a pastor in England named Richard Baxter said…. “Oh, then may we have a clear conscience, that can say, 'I lived not to myself but to Christ; I spared not my pains; I hid not my talents; I concealed not from them the way of their recovery.' If you would prepare for a comfortable passing and a great and glorious reward, then see the harvest before you. Gird up the loins of your minds, and quit yourselves like men, that you may end your days with these triumphant words: 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me in that day.' If you would be blessed with those that die in the Lord, then be diligent now, that you may rest from your labors then, and know you’re your works shall follow you, and you shall not be alarmed when it comes time for your review”.
Only one life, will soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last!
There are no U-haul trailers being towed behind the hearse we will ride into eternity.
A young preacher went to see a great evangelist, to get some advice about being more effective as a minister. He told him, "Before you will be able to preach Jesus, you must fall in love with Him yourself -- fall in love with Him so personally and so intimately that He becomes the most real and wonderful Person in your life; so real and glorious that you will preach Jesus, live Jesus, sing about Jesus, and witness to the marvelous miracle of His grace in our lives wherever we go and whatever we do." We must be completely and totally convinced of the truth ourselves before we can ever convince others. We can’t be like the Ford salesman who drove a Chevy!
I close with this….One of the dramatic sights in Yosemite National Park is the moment the "fire falls." Each evening there is a huge wood fire built at the top of Glacier Point. And after dark, while hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people are gazing up from the valley, someone cries out, "Let the fire fall!" And that huge, brilliant mass of fire is pushed off the precipice and begins to cascade down fourteen hundred feet to the valley floor. That sight is always dramatic, inspiring, and unforgettable.
Against the gathering darkness of our day we desperately need to cry out to heaven, “Let our souls be set on fire in a fresh, powerful way. Oh let the fire of heaven fall upon us in a new demonstration, inflaming our souls and sparking our torches and sending us out as flaming witnesses across our sin-blackened world. May the cry go up…from the churches, the homes, the work place….LET THE FIRE FALL!
