Ministering: Pastor Shola Awobajo (Senior Pastor).
Text: 1 Sam. 4:1-8.
” 1 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek. 2 And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. 3 And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. 4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. 5 And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. 6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the Lord was come into the camp. 7 And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore. 8 Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness.”
Positive changes take place in The Presence of God. A Covenant always produces a joyful sound. Make a Joyful Sound unto The Lord, all you people. After the fulfillment of every covenant, Man is bound to be joyful because there would have been a Divine Change. Psalm 89:15 says “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance.”
A Covenant is a binding agreement between two or more parties. A Covenant is so powerful because it brings solution and mighty deliverance to all manners of issues. The devil is always a loser to anyone in Covenant with God. Anytime Christ appears, He brings Life that destroys all the works of the devil. John 10:10, 1 John 3:8.
From our above Text, the Philistine themselves confessed they were doomed as The Ark of The Covenant arrived in The Camp of Israel. The Ark of The Covenant symbolizes to Israel the manifestation of The Presence of God. Under Covenant, God takes over your battles. Unfortunately, Israel was not in alignment with The Covenant Terms, hence, their sound was empty, and thus, their enemy defeated them.
Walking in The Covenant is so vital to taking advantage of the terms of the Covenant. God promised to lengthen the Days of His People as they walk in the Way of His Covenant. 1 Kings 3:14. In 1 Sam. 1 & 2, after Hannah made a covenant vow to God, her miracle manifested and she kept the terms.
In our Covenant with God, Christ gave Himself as our ransom; He went to the grave so we will not be found among the dead. God is bound to act as long as you keep your side of The Covenant. Deut. 7:9. All the Earth belongs to God, so there is nothing good we desire that God does not possess in abundance measure. God never breaks His Covenant; He never fails in His Promises and never disappoints any that cry to Him. Heb. 6:18, Ps. 22:5, Rom. 10:11.
The enemy is aware of the power of a Covenant with God, hence; he does everything to hinder anybody from entering into a Covenant with God. Devil knows the power of invoking God’s Covenant against him, hence, he tries to lure God’s people away by making them go against the terms of the Covenant with God. Satan caused Israel to go after other gods, commit immorality, etc; by these, he was able to make the Covenant ineffective to Israel. In Joshua 7:1-4, Israel experienced defeat from a little enemy (Ai) because someone in their midst had gone against the terms of the Covenant.
For A Covenant to be Effective:
1. Keep your own side of The Covenant. Always come back to renew it by not forsaking the assembly of His People – Gen. 35:1.
2. Put away every strange god from yourself. Take off every filthy garment of sin – Gen. 35:2-4, 1 Jn. 3:8.
3. Walk in Obedience. Serve God with all your heart. Deut. 28:1-2.
In closing, without Christ, no man can be in Covenant with God. Christ is The Mediator of The New Covenant. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: The Right Hand of The Lord doeth valiantly – Ps. 118:15.
God Bless You!
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