Walking in the Power of the New Convenant — David Wilkerson

Walking in the Power of the New Covenant

Walking in the power of the new covenant. Heavenly Father, show us your loving heart this morning. Show us the loving heart of Jesus, and the great love and compassion of the Holy Spirit, and the commitment that you've made to keep your children from the problems and the trials and the temptations and the terror that comes in these final days.

We're not on our own, oh God, from the foundation of the world you've made provision. God, open our eyes and our understanding. We can't see this in our own power. We can't see it in our own strength.

I can't convey it in my own power and strength. I can't produce an anointing. I can't produce unction. I am but a voice. I am but a channel. Oh God, in Jesus' name, send your Holy Ghost. Give us ears to hear and eyes to see and a heart to yield to you, we pray.

God, send truth that sets us free, we pray. Hallelujah. Amen. Now, in the Old Testament, now, folks, please, you have got to put on, my teacher at school said, put on your thinking caps. We like to be spoon-fed.

We like just little bits and tidbits and try to, we have such a short interest span. You're never going to get this unless you ask the Holy Ghost to help you. No matter how eloquent or how sadly I present this, it's not going to be understood without the anointing of the Holy Spirit on your ears as well as on my tongue.

So pray for that as we approach this incredible subject of the covenant. Now, in the Old Testament, it was a practice of godly men to lay hold of the covenant to find relief and strength in their terror times when there were difficulties and troubles that they couldn't understand.

They always laid hold of the covenant. It was in the covenant they found their strength and relief. It's all through the Old Testament. Take David, for example. David, in his last days, is looking back over his life.

He's looking back at all the trouble, the distress, especially caused by his sin in his own life and in his family. What tragic times. No life seems more troubled than David's life. A man after God's own heart.

And even in his final days, he can't understand why he was so tempted and so tried with fiery trials. And he said, My sins are so innumerable, they're more than the hairs on my head. And yet, in his last days, he said, Although my house be not so with God, yet He hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure.

He said, I know one thing. God gave me a promise, and I have walked in my life in the power of that. And now in my dying days, I die in the power of a promise given to me from God that I'm going to have a sure house until the end of time, that some day my descendants will rule and reign on this earth.

And he wasn't thinking about his own name. He was thinking of the Messiah. All of these men, all of the Old Testament prophets and kings like David understood if they walked with God that one was coming to redeem mankind.

He found relief. He said, No matter what my condition may be, no more I see. It may not be what I want it to be, but God has made me a promise, and I've cast myself on that promise. And that produced power in his life.

Jacob Receives the Covenant Blessing

Consider Jacob, if you will, with me. His father sends him away to Patam Aram to find a wife. It's a long journey. It's going to be set with dangers from wild animals, from thieves. It's long. It's hot.

It's a long journey. And you read the story, and something seems strange to the human eye. This father Isaac is a very wealthy man. He has cattle. He has camels. He has mules. He has riches. He has servants.

He sends his son away with nothing. He sends him away with nothing. In fact, Jacob's own testimony was, I had nothing but my staff. When I crossed Jordan, I went with my staff only. Now, why would a rich father send away his son on an errand of his own choosing in his own direction and not give him anything of material benefit?

Why didn't he give him a few servants to go with him? Why not a camel to travel on? Why not a little bit of finances to establish him when he finds a wife so he can buy some cattle and a piece of land and start over just like his father had?

But yet his father had inherited so much. And you look at that and say, well, he sent him away poverty stricken. But no, he didn't send him away poverty stricken. Isaac gave him something worth more than all the cattle on a thousand hills.

Gave him something more valuable than all the riches of gold and silver on the earth. He sent him away with the covenant blessing of his grandfather Abraham. I picture him laying his hands on his head and he's saying, you know about your grandfather, how God revealed himself as God Almighty.

That was the first time he was revealed as God Almighty. And when he said, what will you give me, God Almighty, God says, I give you myself. I'm all you need. You will need nothing else. I am. I'm everything you need.

That was the revelation that was given to him. And it was such a powerful revelation. He said, I will be your shield. No one can harm you. And Isaac lays his hand on Jacob's head and he prays that same prayer.

And God Almighty bless you, Jacob. Make you fruitful and multiply you and give you the blessing of Abraham. You see, his father didn't want him to be able to go out in the world and say, I have heard of a covenant.

I have heard that a covenant was given to my grandfather. My grandfather was delivered from all of his enemies. My grandfather told me that God was his protection. My father Isaac taught me these things.

No, God wanted him through his father Isaac to have his own revelation. Isaac knew that God would not fail him because God had made him a promise. He stood on this promise that was given to Abraham. I am going to bless you and keep you and be God Almighty to you and all your children.

Your sons, your daughters, your grandkids, your great grandkids, your great, great grandfather and great, great grandchildren. As far as you can see, I am going to be God Almighty. That's all you need.

Whatever danger, whatever enemies, it doesn't matter whether it's a bear, a lion, doesn't matter whether it's a thief, doesn't matter whether your relatives cheat you. Whatever happens, you've got a promise.

And you're going to live on that promise. You're going to cast your life on that promise. He goes toward Paddan Aram and he lays down on a rock and he has a dream. Because you see, God, hallelujah, is keeping covenant.

The promise he gave to his father and grandfather and to Isaac is now being given to Jacob. There's a ladder, remember? And he sees angels ascending and descending and God Almighty is at the top of the ladder.

You see, he's going to be able to say now, Oh, I heard about the covenant. My grandfather enjoyed it. And all the blessing walked in the power of it. My father had a revelation of it. He walked in the power of it.

It kept him all these years. He's been blessed and kept and protected from his enemies. And he's been drawn closer to God. He knows God the Father. Now Jacob can say, I have seen the covenant. Because God came down to Jacob and said, The Lord said to Jacob, I am the Lord God of Abraham, your father, and the God of Isaac.

And behold, I am with you now in all places, wherever you go. And I will bring you again into this land. I will not leave you until I've done everything that I spoke to you about. Never leave you. Folks, if we've got better promises in the new covenant and God says under the old covenant, I'll never leave you until I fulfill every promise I've made to you.

I will never leave you. I'll never forsake you. I'll keep you from the wicked one. How glorious these promises are. Now God makes covenant with man simply to show how committed he is to protect and keep and preserve us from all the powers of the enemy, from devil himself.

That's why God makes covenant. Covenant is God trying to convince His people they're loved. It's almost as though God comes at us as if He couldn't be trusted and makes these incredible promises and then swears by Himself because there's no greater one to swear by.

God makes covenant because He's yearning to be God to His people, to be almighty in their behalf. God is doing everything in His power and authority to get us to trust Him and cast our lives and our future on His Word.

You see, God wasn't satisfied that Jacob had a second-hand revelation of the covenant. And folks, I can tell you right now, God's not interested in you just getting it from a sermon from this pulpit.

I can preach about the covenant, Pastor Carter, and others can preach about it. You can get tapes and you can read books and you will never understand it. These will just be words of mystery to you unless there is something in your heart that is craving and yearning to know Jesus in a greater way.

There has to be a yearning and craving in your heart to walk in holiness and righteousness in a dark age. And the darker it gets, the more you see violence, the more you see mass hysteria, the more you see the arrogance of the wicked.

There has to be something in your heart rise up and say, Oh God! I want to be a shining light. I don't want to go this way. I want to be a witness to your holiness, your power to keep people in the darkest of ages.

The Promises of the New Covenant

Let me remind you of some of the great promises of the new covenant. Now folks, there are only two covenants mentioned in the New Testament, the old and the new. They represent two ways of approaching God, two ways of serving God.

The old covenant has to do with works. It has to do with sweat. It has to do with striving to please God by human nature, human willpower. Now you're under one of these covenants. You're either in the new covenant or you're in the old covenant.

If you're a believer, you're in one of these covenants and you have to choose. There are some of you still striving to please God in the flesh. I want to show you some, we'll come back to that, but I want to show you first some of the great promises of the new covenant.

I want you to go to Luke, the first chapter if you will please. Start in verse 67 if you will. Luke 1 beginning with verse 67. I'm going to read five or six verses. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost.

Now remember John, John Baptist has just been named. His father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost and prophesied saying, now folks listen, God has loosed the tongue of this man and the spirit of God has come upon him and he's preaching covenant.

He's preaching covenant. God has remembered his covenant. Listen to it please. Verse 68. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets which have been since the world began that we should be saved from our enemies.

Now these are the promises of the new covenant. That we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all them that hate us to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant the oath which he swore to our father Abraham that he would grant unto us that we be delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.

Look at it. To serve him in righteousness and holiness without fear all the days of our life. Now think about that for a minute. God said he's remembering his covenant. Look at me please. When man was just a thought in the heart of God long before the world was ever created the blessed trinity God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost covenant with each other to plan and put in place a fail safe commitment a fail safe agreement a fail safe contract between themselves not with man at the time that would come to those who were united to Christ but there was a fail safe plan in the very councils of the heavenlies an incredible plan was devised so incredible when you see it you're not going to be swayed by every wind and wave of doctrine.

You'll not be swayed by your feelings anymore. You'll have a foundation and the devil doesn't want you to understand covenant because he knows it's going to be the end of your fear and your guilt and it's going to be a security for you like you have never known or understood before the plan of salvation that was devised in heaven long before the world was created.

Redemption Planned Before Creation

When man was just a thought in the heart of God the plan of redemption was made. And that plan of redemption was not just an exit plan should the devil defeat and ruin God's creation. I heard a young preacher saying with all pathos and tears in his eyes he said God looked down over the balcony of heaven and he saw the devil deceiving Adam his perfect creation.

And he turned to his son and said we've got problems. What are we going to do? And Jesus his son said well father I'll go and I'll atone for sin when you're ready. And he said God hurried and sent him to the cross and he quickly died bloodless.

All humanity be lost. That's nonsense. Absolute gooey nonsense. The new covenant was ordered and all things ensured before the world was made in this mutual covenant between God the Father and Son and the Holy Ghost.

It was agreed that there would be a plan. Christ was the center of the plan. But that plan would never be no created being would ever believe would ever bring themselves to accept it. It was so full of grace and love and mercy.

No one could accept it. So they had to be taught. The old covenant was given to bring man to believe the blessings of the new man could never believe that God could just so love him and forgive him that he would take his sins that God himself would take the sins that God would become man.

You see at the time Jesus was the spirit he did not have as a body. Yet Jesus said I've prepared for you a body. In fact Paul the apostle said he's the express image of the invisible God. We picture Jesus as a man walking around in the councils of heaven.

He was an invisible spirit just as the Father the same essence God Father, God Son, Holy Ghost, Spirit. But all personalities all with minds divine minds. And the plan was this that the Holy Spirit would move under the old covenant upon certain men and they would write and they would reveal what was devised in their council before the world began.

It was all of love. The Holy Ghost would be the missionary of love to come down and try to convince men they were loved no matter how they failed him no matter how they sinned against him. The Holy Ghost would come down eventually and set up his power base within the human body glory to God.

He would send a prophet before the new covenant to prepare the hearts of the people you know that to be John the Baptist now we know now that as God has revealed it in the scripture that this was all preplanned it was all in the council of God many many eons before the world was created and this galaxy put in place.

Jesus would come as the first of the new humanity. He would be given a body. He would be incarnate in man and he would take the sins of the whole world. And he would atone for those sins. He would be the beginning of the new humanity that was drawn into him a mystical body.

He would never fear this man. Jesus would never have to fear the devil. He would not have to have his own mind or his own will. He'd just do the will of his Heavenly Father. And that was agreed. These were terms that were agreed upon.

I've preached that before. But there were terms between the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. And this is revealed now here to Zacharias. God is revealing by the Holy Spirit what had been predetermined blessed be the Lord God for he's raised up a horn that means an atonement for salvation for us.

That we may be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all that hate us an oath he swore to thy Father Abraham that he would grant to us that we being delivered out of the hand of the enemy. Who's the enemy?

The devil himself and all the demons of hell delivered out of their hands that we might serve him without fear in holiness righteousness before him all the days of our life. Now these are promises just almost too incredible to believe.

The Law Written on the Heart

You know the rest of the promises of the new covenant. In Hebrews 8 chapter. He said I'm going to put my laws in your heart. He said you're going to see and hear things that some of the teachers have been to seminaries for years will never know or understand.

I'm going to reveal them to babes. I'm going to reveal myself. And babes there are some of you sitting here now that have never had a secular education. But you know more about Jesus than any seminary president.

Because you've been walking with him and talking. The Holy Ghost has revealed him to you. He said I'm going to be almighty God to you just as I was to Abraham. You see all the promises of the old covenant were encompassed in the new and many new ones were added.

Wonderful promises beyond comprehension. God says I'm going to be merciful to your sins. I'm going to forgive and then I'm going to forget them. All these wonderful promises. Every promise in the book is a covenant promise all planned before the world was made.

Hallelujah. You still coming with me? I'm asking you now are you enjoying the provisions and promises of the new covenant? Let me ask you. Are you living without fear all your days in righteousness and holy before the Lord not your own but his?

Few amens. I'm not painting the new covenant walk as one without suffering and trouble. It rains on the just and the unjust and many of the afflictions of the righteous. But I'm saying if your life is filled with fear and dread and there's no power to resist the enemy there's no growing strength in you no drawing near to the Lord then you're not walking in covenant.

You're living far beneath your privileges and you're like those starving lepers right within reach of all the provisions that they need. Zacchaeus said God has remembered his covenant didn't mean that he forgot it.

God said I remember. He said I remember. This is the time this is the moment in history that is to go into effect. And that's what Zacchaeus is saying. The new covenant is coming into effect. God has remembered it from the foundation of the world.

Taking Hold of the Covenant

The Lord desires for us to lay hold of the covenant. I read Isaiah 56 4. Choose the things that please me and take hold of my covenant. Take hold of it. If you've not entered the new covenant and walking in its power.

If you have not really wanted to understand it then I would hope the question you have in your mind now is how can I lay hold of the covenant. How can I do it. How can I come into the covenant. How can I walk in that power.

I totally disagree with the hyper-Calvinist who say there are no conditions to the covenants of God especially the new covenant. Their teaching is that God does it all. Even the faith that is necessary has to come from God that he has to instill the faith.

And you can do nothing but wait until God acts. I'm telling you that there are conditions to the covenant. This covenant has nothing to do with lukewarm Christians who just want to escape hell. Nothing at all.

Forget it, don't even go another just drop out at this point. If you don't have a heart for God if you don't want to change your ways. If you don't want to walk before him in righteousness not in striving.

But if you don't want this wonderful gift of the righteousness of Jesus Christ which alone will stand before the Father. This covenant is a vehicle. It is something God has given to us in the way of promises to enable the thirsting, hungering heart to come into fullness.

It has nothing to do with the double minded has nothing to do with those who want to hold on to their sins. It's for those who are sick of their sins sick of temptation, falling sick of all of the worldly ways and sick of their striving.

It's only for those. Now, let me show you what I believe in the conditions of coming into the new covenant. First of all there has to be an absolute final renunciation of all confidence in the flesh to please God.

Total renouncing of all human power effort, willpower, whatever it may be to try to merit something in the eyes of God. You cannot come into the new covenant. You will never understand it until you have come to this place where you realize that with all of your promises God has said I don't care how sorry you are.

I don't care how long your prayers are. I don't care how many promises you make. I don't care how you sweat. I don't care what you do to try to cut off things in your own power and strength. God said you're going to renounce it because it doesn't stand.

It has no merit, it has no meaning to me. I don't accept it. When I was a boy we had little toy lead soldiers. Now some of you over 60 some of you men will understand what I'm talking about. You got a big bar of lead and there was a little smelter and you had little molds and you made your soldiers and then you painted them.

I had a whole army little toy men and little toy women. I always put them in the back. They're feeding these soldiers. But you see I was God. I could move them and smash them and make them victorious.

I could do anything. And you know that's a concept a lot of people have of God that we are his toys that he created these little men and women to move them about. And little battles and struggles and smash anybody who he wanted to smash and promote anybody he wanted to promote.

Humanity as the Highest Expression of God's Love

Oh no. No no no no folks God help us to get that concept out of our mind. We've got to understand that man is his highest creation the highest expression of his love that God could possibly give. We are an expression of his love.

You know I used to think God made us just to love him. Yes yes. But we are an expression of his giving love. God's own love that he gave that he gave he gave. I stand before you as an expression of the love of God.

And you sit before me as a great expression of the love of God. I don't care. How mean you are. You're still an expression of the love of God. It says of Jesus in Matthew 13 35. He taught by parables that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet.

I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the earth. You know what the word is saying Jesus. Everything I tell you now is coming out of the eternal council before the world was created.

What I'm telling you now is what was devised in this council in heaven. I speak you words that come to me before the foundation of the world. Every word he spoke was covenant. Every word he spoke was predetermined in those councils in heaven.

How sure this is what a firm foundation. The Lord wasn't shooting from his hip. He wasn't making it up as he goes folks it's all in divine order. The world may look like it's spinning apart but everything God is in control.

No surprises. He saw it all, he sees it all. He knows it all. I don't believe in the limited foreknowledge of God to have been there. Be privy of that council and glory before the world was begun was begun when the Godhead said now how are we going to make this humanity understand our love.

And I'm sure it came from the Son. He said I'll grow up before you's a tender plant Father. And I will come to them as a bridegroom. See the covenant is all about love. How else could God express his love.

Christ and the Bride

But by marriage he said I'll come as a bridegroom searching for a bride. They'll understand that because they get married they're going to be getting married. There will be love, there will be affection.

They will understand that folks, Paul the Apostle didn't concoct this concept of a bride and the church being one as a husband and a wife, he didn't concoct this doctrine in his own mind about a bride adorned for husband.

He didn't concoct any of this great truth that was devised in the eternal councils of God about him being our husband, in fact the scripture says thy maker is thy husband, the Lord of host is his name.

That's covenant language right out of the councils of heaven turn O backsliding children and say to the Lord for I am married to you. I will take one of a city and two of a family and I'll bring you unto Zion.

And what about the song of Solomon, remember God said in the current eternal councils of glory, he said the Holy Spirit, you will move upon men. The Holy Spirit agreed, I will move upon men and I will give them the mind of the Father and this is the mind of the Father, song of Solomon is God trying to help you understand the new covenant.

Thou has ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse, he's talking about the bride of Christ, those who are in Christ thou has ravished my heart with one of your eyes with one chain of your neck. How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse how much better is your love to me than wine, God speaking all through the bible old and new I love you, Christ comes to prove that love of God Holy Ghost comes to bring it to the mind and the soul and make it reality and I want you to know that in the councils of heaven, every contingency was considered, every I tell you the divine mind could miss nothing, what if the bride strays what if one of the members of this bride who just leaves the flock and goes and Jesus said I'll go after him father, and I'll find that one who strays and I'll put him in my arms tenderly, I won't rebuke him that lamb, I won't chastise it, I won't beat it, I'll bring it back and restore it to the lamb.

What if my servants, my ministers fall into sin and they're besotted by their sins and they're in despair, and what if they are bound by habits and chains and Jesus said I'll go, father I'll release them from their prisons, I'll break every chain think that is going on in your life that God and the Holy Ghost and his son did not take into consideration, God's not surprised by anything going on in your life and mine he knew it and saw it all but what if the bride who is tempted by fiery temptations and they fall and commit diverse kinds of sins besetting sins, will they be cut off and it's Jesus who according to what we know in scripture now said I'll be merciful to their sins and iniquities, that's what the covenant says they will not be cut off.

I'll be patient, long-suffering, tender hearted, forgiving, I will be a reconciler father, I will reconcile them to you I'll not, I'll bring back all for full restoration who turn to me in hunger those who repent come to me I will not cast out I'll not bruise a bruised reed, I'll not quench a smoking flax, wherever there's a spark of love I'll fan it into a fire, I will quicken the faint hearted I will ransom them from the power of the enemy, I'll break all the dominion of sin, folks it's an absolute dishonor to God and His covenant to think that we are cut off from God by every single offense, we are not cut off from God, we are not in His disfavor just because we fall into some kind of failure before God.

Now if we persist in that, we turn away from all the work of the Holy Spirit and His doings and His callings and we willingly forcefully drive the Holy Ghost out of our hearts then we have broken covenant but God's covenant is not fickle, it doesn't rest on every ebb and flow and tide of our feelings, His love is unconditional unconditional love.

Christ's Righteousness as the Sole Basis of Access

Now folks there was one stipulation God made in the covenant that was not negotiable now I want you to listen closely now God would accept no, this was determined before the world was begun. Jesus, my son, this is something that can't be negotiated this is something that is final, I will accept no other righteousness but yours yours alone you live the perfect life, you fulfill the old covenant, you fulfill the law, and then when I bring you back to glory I'm going to look only at you, there will be no other man in my presence, no other man that I honor.

There will be no access to me but through you there will be no good works that any man on the face of the earth that can do no good works, no amount of praying. None of these will bring any merit. The only merit you can bring to my throne is your merit.

No other blood but your blood, no other sacrifice but you the prophesied one the seed of Abraham the son of David. No other man, folks, there's one man in glory and only one man and you and I come into the covenant, the covenant was made with Christ the Father and the Holy Ghost the only way you and I are in it by faith, we are the seed, God said everything I give to you I will give to your seed, I promise to you and your seed which is his children.

Are you a child of Jesus. Have you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, folks every promise in the book is every promise in the covenant is yours. If you're in the covenant the Lord says, I will accept no one's righteousness.

I don't care if they sweat and try and plead and promise it's all filthy rags. I won't accept it, until you come to the end of that until you get sick and tired of trying in your own strength until you get fed up with all of the failed promises.

Sin confessed, sin confessed guilt, fear, and trying to struggle and finally give up and said there is no hope. There is hope. It's the new covenant. He said well then where's the power I need to overcome sin and temptation.

The Holy Ghost and Power Over Sin

Where's the power. Well remember there was a third party to this council this covenant and it was agreed upon by the trinity and it was a mission the Holy Ghost gladly received. God said I will give you as the power folks it is the Holy Ghost in us that is the power of the living God.

All power over all sin all power over human human powers, devil's powers principalities and powers all of it is in the power of the Holy Ghost. That's why he said pray that you receive the Holy Ghost.

He comes in and sets up his power base here in this temple but he cannot do his work until you've given up your work and that's why many don't have the power and they're not walking in the power of the covenant because they're still trying to do the work of the Holy Ghost and you can't do it.

You get alone with God in his secret closet and say Lord I'm sick and tired of all these broken promises. I'm sick and tired of trying and sweating and not getting anywhere. I'll last a week, a month and I'm right back where I was before and you finally say oh God I cast myself onto the hands and the power of the Holy Ghost and I believe it.

It may be that I have to say like David I've not yet seen it, I've not yet experienced in fullness but you made me a covenant and I stand on it, I'll live and die on it if there's any failure still in my life.