NEW YEAR, NEW HOPE

 

• Life in the New Covenant, Part 1
  Rick Joyner

          With each new year, we have new hope for better things to come. I pray this year will be your best yet. So, what would make this the best year of your life? This would be a good time to define the best thing that could happen in your life. Would it be the salvation or reconciliation of a loved one? Your healing or theirs? A resolution to financial problems? 

          For all these reasons and more, Jesus came to the earth, which He declared in His first official sermon from Isaiah 61:1-3: 

          The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; 

          to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, 

          to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So, they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. 

           All this and more is included in the new covenant He made with us, so we know He wants us to have them. So, why do we not have all these things in our lives, and why do so many who have this covenant with Almighty God not walk in all the benefits He paid such a terrible price for them to have?

          Because we live by faith, and because of all we walk in, we receive by faith. And for some reason, it’s easier to have faith for eternal salvation than for needed provisions in this life. Just think how much more wonderful our lives would be if we were to walk in all the benefits of our covenant with Him. Let’s resolve that this is our time to do this.

          Every covenant has at least two parties, and each has obligations to fulfill. The Lord has already fulfilled His part by paying the full price on the cross for our redemption and reconciliation to God for healing, deliverance, and full restoration. How do we attain these benefits of our covenant with God? By doing our part, which is to have faith in Him. 

          The currency of the kingdom is faith. The Lord has already provided all the benefits of the new covenant for us. All we must do is receive them by having faith in Him.   

          It may seem easier to believe in Him for salvation than for Him to heal us of a disease or other affliction, yet both are included in the same covenant we have with Him. We know He is always faithful and always keeps His word, so the problem is not with Him but with our ability to receive. How do we resolve this?

          First, we must acknowledge we have a problem and that the problem is with us, since there are no shortcomings or failures with God keeping His covenant. To acknowledge this is humility, to which God can give grace. In other words, we should acknowledge our unbelief and ask for His help to believe. This is why He sent us the Helper, the Holy Spirit. 

          If we think we have faith, but God is still not doing His part, then we likely do not understand faith. Faith is not an emotion or an intellectual agreement with a concept. True faith is not faith in our faith but faith in God. True faith sees the Lord, Who He is, and where He sits above all rule and power and authority. Do we see Him?

          When Peter looked at Jesus, he could walk on the troubled water. When he took his eyes off Jesus and began looking at the water, he began to sink. We do the same. It’s not that we do not also see the troubles. We see them, but we see Him who is bigger than the troubles and wants to resolve them. Are we fixing our eyes on Him or on the problems? Let’s resolve this year to see Him more in everything and in every way. 

© 2024 Rick Joyner. All Rights Reserved.