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First—thank you for the encouraging feedback from yesterday’s posting. Many felt they gained clarity to pursue their calling. And in the fog-filled days of early 2014, we can all attest to the importance of this gift of Holy Spirit clarity.
Fog and freezing rain. That pretty much describes our atmospheric struggle in Washington DC this week, both naturally and spiritually. Much of what I’m sharing in these postings comes from the light the Lord has shined to help me navigate through. When all is said and done, how has King Jesus defined the boundaries of His covenant with us? And how do we advance accordingly?
Covenant and Boundaries
So lets begin with an understanding of covenant. The Lord established the boundaries of His land and people through a covenant with Abraham. Remember how the Lord came down with a smoking fire pot and a burning lamp to seal this covenant. Ever since, burning lamps have been a sign of God’s covenant and the restoration of His covenant blessing in the land.
And since that time, He has entrusted many with thrones of authority to oversee and steward His covenant with His land and people. As we shared yesterday, Jeremiah was set over nations and kingdoms. Elijah was given a throne and witness to turn Israel from Baal to the living God. An angel of the Lord was sent to bring Moses and his people into the specific boundaries of their geographic inheritance.
After Moses died, God commissioned Joshua to carry on the work. Please note that Joshua was given specific geographic boundaries, and then was told that within these boundaries “no man shall stand before you all the days of your life” (Joshua 1:2-5).
What does this mean? To a large extent, your authority to overthrow the enemy is dependent upon aligning with His covenant, and dwelling within His assigned covenant boundaries! Do you have a choice in the matter? Well, yes and no. Jonah had a choice. When he set a different course, he experienced the first recorded submarine ride. So too, the people of Israel had a choice on either confronting their giants or not entering their land. Forty years of wilderness followed. Hate when that happens!
But prophetic mandates are just that. They are mandates, not options on a value menu or a car lot. Allowing God to direct your life is following through with the mandate He gives all of His disciples. Pick up your cross, and follow Me. Those who have lost houses, or fields, or family for My sake and the gospel’s shall receive a hundred fold in this life, and in the age to come eternal life (Mark 10:29-30, paraphrased).
What a great return! That said, it is well worth it to allow God to define your direction in life—your covenant commitments, including your professional spheres, your family, and your geographic spheres.
Transforming Your Sphere
you want to be a world changer, right? Isaiah prophesied about how these covenant commitments would unlock God’s intimacy and manifest authority to bring transformation to your world. Speaking of Israel’s capitol, he declares:
“For Zion’s sake I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness shines forth like brightness, and her salvation like a lamp that burns.”
Isaiah then declares one of the most hope-filled prophecies in the entirety of the Bible. “You will no longer be termed forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed desolate; but you shall be called Hephzibah and your land Beulah, for the Lord delights in you, and to Him your land shall be married.”
That’s great news for the capital of Jerusalem, and that’s great news for capital cities today—including Washington DC. On July 4, 2011, we saw the Lord renew covenant with Washington DC and the nation. He agreed to marry our capitol and our nation again! From this covenant, the window for transformation has opened in a similar way to what He prophesied to Jerusalem. To Him your land shall be married!
How is this transformation accomplished? The next verse makes things clear. “For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.”
This is worth your focused attention. The process God identifies to bring God’s rejoicing presence into our cities is that He compels His sons to marry the land. In other words, to come into covenant with Him to manifest His dream for the land.
Covenant Establishes Thrones
You can do great things and even have a great and impacting life apart from this covenant invitation. But my personal belief is that you will never be entrusted with the level of God’s authority necessary to transform your sphere. Transformation begins with covenant. For instance, Jerusalem’s greatest recorded transformation, under David’s reign, can be directly traced to His covenant with God for the land. Don’t believe me? Read Psalm 132, David’s vow to restore the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and build Him a 24/7 dwelling place!
Which brings me to the next passage of Isaiah 62. “I have set watchmen on your wall who will not hold their peace night and day. You who make mention of the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give Him no rest, until He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.”
Covenant with God for the land unlocks His governmental authority to transform the land. He will dwell as a Bridegroom over His bride. Covenant establishes the throne on which our praise compels Him to dwell.
Deliverance from Every Adversary
In this context, just like with David, watchmen who bear this covenant will give themselves night and day to keep the gates open and compel His advancement in the land.
A final point. Within this covenant you will find God’s promise to deliver you from all of your adversaries. What a promise! THIS IS SUCH A KEY POINT FOR 2014, this year of deliverance.
“The covenant I have made with you, you shall not forget; nor shall you fear other gods. But the Lord your God you shall fear, and He shall deliver you from the hand of EVERY ADVERSARY” (2 Kings 17:38-9).
