Infinite Fellowship Ministries

Covenant: Sermon By Rev. Richard Muendo

In many separate revelations [each of which set forth a portion of the Truth] and in different ways God spoke of old to [our] forefathers in and by the prophets, [But] in the last of these days He has spoken to us in [the person of a] Son, Whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of all things, also by and through Whom He created the worlds and the reaches of space and the ages of time [He made, produced, built, operated, and arranged them in order]. He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine], and He is the perfect imprint and very image of [God’s] nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty word of power. When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high. 

Hebrews 1:1-3 (AMPC)

Revelation has a time and space. Each instance of revelation being in part; a part of a cumulative truth.

Truth in its entirety it is too grand to be beheld by us as God’s creation.

It is very deliberate and very unique how the Lord decides to interact with humanity. He does so through relationship.

Surely the Lord God will do nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets. 

Amos 3:7 (AMPC)

Order gives insight into the intentions of God. Order is the wisdom of God. There is no ability to thrive without order.

God’s nature is so engrained in the subatomic level of creation, that it can uphold and maintain and guide and propel the universe by His mighty word of power.

The Son is the radiance and only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God [reflecting God’s Shekinah glory, the Light-being, the brilliant light of the divine], and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His [Father’s] essence, and upholding and maintaining and propelling all things [the entire physical and spiritual universe] by His powerful word [carrying the universe along to its predetermined goal]. When He [Himself and no other] had [by offering Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for sin] accomplished purification from sins and established our freedom from guilt, He sat down [revealing His completed work] at the right hand of the Majesty on high [revealing His Divine authority]. 

Hebrews 1:3 (AMP)

The world cannot determine the actions of God. The world is a manifestation of the expression of the actions of God.

The coming of Christ will ensure that the limitations of what is created with be eliminated for the expression of the rule of God.

Covenant is a platform of interaction between God and man through relationship.

There are covenants that establish worship, and then there are covenants that steer generations.

Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, [a]the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. For by [faith – trust and holy fervor born of faith] the men of old had divine testimony borne to them and obtained a good report. By faith we understand that the worlds [during the successive ages] were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose) by the word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things which are visible. [Prompted, actuated] by faith Abel brought God a better and more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, because of which it was testified of him that he was righteous [that he was upright and in right standing with God], and God bore witness by accepting and acknowledging his gifts. And though he died, yet [through the incident] he is still speaking. 

Hebrews 11:1-4 (AMPC)

Covenants cannot be established without sacrifice. For example, the covenant that ensured that we were saved even before we sinned was sealed by the slaying of the lamb of God from the foundations of the world.

A sacrifice is not what is physical but it’s a reaction and response of the heart to God. Sacrifice is a reflection of the perception of the heart of who God is.

There are 3 dimensions of sacrifice: good, acceptable and perfect.

In the context of covenant, you must base its strength on the belief of God’s existence and His character.

God will never judge you on basis of something He hasn’t equipped you with. God will never place a requirement on you outside of His provision.

Faith will ensure you don’t place trust in the promises of God but on the promisor.

Now [in Haran] the Lord said to Abram, Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your country, from your relatives and your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others]. And I will bless those who bless you [who confer prosperity or happiness upon you] and curse him who curses or uses insolent language toward you; in you will all the families and kindred of the earth be blessed [and by you they will bless themselves]. So Abram departed, as the Lord had directed him; and Lot [his nephew] went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. 

Genesis 12:1-4 (AMPC)

There is a place where covenant informs you on what is for your advantage.

By the time Israel became apostate, they started to do things that were right in their own eyes instead of what the Lord had informed them was for their advantage. 

Without Kingdom scale, you will never know what is for your advantage but rather you will always be defining what is for your advantage.

 Are we living by defining what is for our advantage ourselves? Or are we relying on the Kingdom scales?

Interacting with covenant will enable you to know what is for your advantage. Covenant will place a demand on your life.

If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his [own] father and mother [in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God] and [likewise] his wife and children and brothers and sisters—[yes] and even his own life also—he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not persevere and carry his own cross and come after (follow) Me cannot be My disciple. 

Luke 14:26-27 (AMPC)

There is a call and an extraction that every believer receives when they encounter their Kingdom-specific mandate that moves them from the place that is not conducive for the fulfillment of the same, to the place that is conducive.

 How many decisions have you made out of your appreciation of your covenant with the Lord? #SELAH

Abram passed through the land to the locality of Shechem, to the oak or terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, I will give this land to your posterity. So Abram built an altar there to the Lord, Who had appeared to him. From there he pulled up [his tent pegs] and departed to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 

Genesis 12:6-8 (AMPC)

A covenant is sealed with sacrifice.

But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me! 

2 Corinthians 12:9 (AMPC)

The Lord will use your weakness as a wisdom for your spiritual equipment. It’s meant for what God has called you for.

The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into Pharaoh’s house [harem]. And he treated Abram well for her sake; he acquired sheep, oxen, he-donkeys, menservants, maidservants, she-donkeys, and camels. But the Lord scourged Pharaoh and his household with serious plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, She is my sister, so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her and get away [from here]! And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him, and they brought him on his way with his wife and all that he had. 

Genesis 12:15-20 (AMPC)

Abraham acquired wealth through his weakness of lying. God’s purpose requires wealth. There is a consecration that follows the acquisition of wealth.

The place we are weakest in our persons is where we are equipped the most.

And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle. And the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land [making fodder more difficult to obtain]. So Abram said to Lot, Let there be no strife, I beg of you, between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself, I beg of you, from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you choose the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot looked and saw that everywhere the Jordan Valley was well watered. Before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, [it was all] like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar. Then Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley and [he] traveled east. So they separated. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the [Jordan] Valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom and dwelt there. But the men of Sodom were wicked and exceedingly great sinners against the Lord.  

Genesis 13:7-13 (AMPC)

There is growth that a believer experiences because of covenant.

The call and the covenant is singular. The call and covenant was Abraham’s. Not his and Lot’s. (Genesis 13:7-9)

After every point of consecration with the right heart posture and reflexive obedience you will have good success and an increase.

So Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the South [country of Judah, the Negeb]. Now Abram was extremely rich in livestock and in silver and in gold. And he journeyed on from the South [country of Judah, the Negeb] as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, Where he had built an altar at first; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord. But Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents. Now the land was not able to nourish and support them so they could dwell together, for their possessions were too great for them to live together. And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle. And the Canaanite and the Perizzite were dwelling then in the land [making fodder more difficult to obtain]. So Abram said to Lot, Let there be no strife, I beg of you, between you and me, or between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, for we are relatives. Is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself, I beg of you, from me. If you take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you choose the right hand, then I will go to the left. And Lot looked and saw that everywhere the Jordan Valley was well watered. Before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, [it was all] like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as you go to Zoar. Then Lot chose for himself all the Jordan Valley and [he] traveled east. So they separated. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the [Jordan] Valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom and dwelt there. But the men of Sodom were wicked and exceedingly great sinners against the Lord. The Lord said to Abram after Lot had left him, Lift up now your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward; For all the land which you see I will give to you and to your posterity forever. And I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth, so that if a man could count the dust of the earth, then could your descendants also be counted. Arise, walk through the land, the length of it and the breadth of it, for I will give it to you. Then Abram moved his tent and came and dwelt among the oaks or terebinths of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and built there an altar to the Lord. 

Genesis 13 (AMPC)

Soon after the increase, the Lord ordains the battle of our manifestation.

In the days of the kings Agrapha of Shinar, Arioch of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer of Elam, and Tidal of Goiim, they made war on the kings Bera of Sodom, Birsha of Gomorrah, Shinab of Admah, Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, that is, Zoar. The latter kings joined together [as allies] in the Valley of Siddim, which is [now] the [Dead] Sea of Salt. Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. And in the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him attacked and subdued the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites in their Mount Seir as far as El-paran, which is on the border of the wilderness. Then they turned back and came to En-mishpat, which [now] is Kadesh, and subdued all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazazon-tamar. Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela, that is, Zoar, went out and [together] they joined battle [with those kings] in the Valley of Siddim, with the kings Chedorlaomer of Elam, Tidal of Goiim, Amraphel of Shinar, and Arioch of Ellasar—four kings against five. Now the Valley of Siddim was full of slime or bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell (were overthrown) there and the remainder [of the kings] fled to the mountain. [The victors] took all the wealth of Sodom and Gomorrah and all the supply of provisions and departed. And they also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods away with them. Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew [one from the other side], who was living by the oaks or terebinths of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and of Aner—these were allies of Abram. When Abram heard that [his nephew] had been captured, he armed (led forth) the 318 trained servants born in his own house and pursued the enemy as far as Dan. He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and attacked and routed them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. And he brought back all the goods and also brought back his kinsman Lot and his possessions, the women also and the people. After his [Abram’s] return from the defeat and slaying of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh, that is, the King’s Valley. Melchizedek king of Salem [later called Jerusalem] brought out bread and wine [for their nourishment]; he was the priest of God Most High, And he blessed him and said, Blessed (favored with blessings, made blissful, joyful) be Abram by God Most High, Possessor and Maker of heaven and earth, And blessed, praised, and glorified be God Most High, Who has given your foes into your hand! And [Abram] gave him a tenth of all [he had taken]. And the king of Sodom said to Abram, Give me the persons and keep the goods for yourself. But Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lifted up my hand and sworn to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor and Maker of heaven and earth, That I would not take a thread or a shoelace or anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich. [Take all] except only what my young men have eaten and the share of the men [allies] who went with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion. 

Genesis 14 (AMPC)

Verse 14: Abram trained 318 in the dimension of the covenant he had with the Lord. This was the battle of manifestation of Abram. He offered to Melchizedek a 10th of all that he had taken in the battle of his manifestation.

Your priorities will be tested as you increase. It is the test of Mormon.  

The covenant: Abram interacts with the Lord. His faith became imputed to him as righteousness.

After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am your Shield, your abundant compensation, and your reward shall be exceedingly great. And Abram said, Lord God, what can You give me, since I am going on [from this world] childless and he who shall be the owner and heir of my house is this [steward] Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram continued, Look, You have given me no child; and [a servant] born in my house is my heir. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, This man shall not be your heir, but he who shall come from your own body shall be your heir. And He brought him outside [his tent into the starlight] and said, Look now toward the heavens and count the stars—if you are able to number them. Then He said to him, So shall your descendants be. And he [Abram] believed in (trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness (right standing with God). And He said to him, I am the [same] Lord, Who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees to give you this land as an inheritance. But he [Abram] said, Lord God, by what shall I know that I shall inherit it? And He said to him, Bring to Me a heifer three years old, a she-goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon. And he brought Him all these and cut them down the middle [into halves] and laid each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not divide. And when the birds of prey swooped down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. When the sun was setting, a deep sleep overcame Abram, and a horror (a terror, a shuddering fear) of great darkness assailed and oppressed him. And [God] said to Abram, Know positively that your descendants will be strangers dwelling as temporary residents in a land that is not theirs [Egypt], and they will be slaves there and will be afflicted and oppressed for 400 years. [Fulfilled in Exod. 12:40.] But I will bring judgment on that nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. And you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old (hoary) age. And in the fourth generation they [your descendants] shall come back here [to Canaan] again, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full and complete. When the sun had gone down and a [thick] darkness had come on, behold, a smoking oven and a flaming torch passed between those pieces. On the same day the Lord made a covenant (promise, pledge) with Abram, saying, To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates—the land of The Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, The Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, The Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.  

Genesis 15 (AMPC)

The Lord requires us to trust in Him. The Lord informed Abram of future events 400 years out. There are generational transactions we need to have with the Lord in the here and now. We need to have elevated sight.

 Abram’s wealth was imparted to the future generations as he interacted with the Lord. #SELAH

The judgment upon Egypt and the Amorites was to be fulfilled 400 years later. There are dimensions of your prophetic word that you cannot fulfill. 

So from one man, though he was physically as good as dead, there have sprung descendants whose number is as the stars of heaven and as countless as the innumerable sands on the seashore. These people all died controlled and sustained by their faith, but not having received the tangible fulfillment of [God’s] promises, only having seen it and greeted it from a great distance by faith, and all the while acknowledging and confessing that they were strangers and temporary residents and exiles upon the earth. 

Hebrews 11:12-13 (AMPC)

For Abraham, his covenant was not only for him or his son, but he had the ability to train, to impart fatherhood to the servants in his household.

When Abram heard that [his nephew] had been captured, he armed (led forth) the 318 trained servants born in his own house and pursued the enemy as far as Dan. 

Genesis 14:14 (AMPC)

God chose Abraham because of this ability to impart a culture to beyond the current generation.

Abraham, by tithing, consecrated his wealth to God. He ensured whatever he got from his covenant was consecrated to God.

You will always be tested by God, for God to establish whether you are interested in the impartation of culture, or the acquisition of wealth.

There is a place in covenant where it determines the source of your wealth.

In every season, you will get tested in your priorities. Whether you are able to separate your priorities from acquisition of wealth.

The Holy Spirit will always challenge you to a place where you are able to see past your own generation to the future generations.

Sometimes at the place of manifestation, a believer can get caught up in the present demonstration of the power of God through the manifestation of their purpose and forget the grand plan of God.

There are dimensions of the prophetic word, which are immediately profitable to you, another where it’s profitable to those around you and your surroundings and the other that you will never get to experience in your time and season.

Covenant is critical. There are transactions you can’t transact without covenant.

Covenant is a platform for man and God to transact in trust.

Covenant will inform you more than you informing it. Covenant will always demand growth.

Covenant is how you will access the blessings that you desire.

Covenant is the way to grow/mature in your walk of faith.

What does your covenant with God require of you?

Covenant will demand of you things that you will have deemed impossible.

There is no competition in covenant.

Covenant ushers you into sonship.