THAT THEY MAY BE ONE!

The root cause of all problems in this world today is broken covenants! The world is scattered with broken covenants between people, countries and nations. There are broken covenants between leaders and their electorate. Broken covenants continue to multiply, in marriages, families and people worldwide, as people continue to disrespect and disregard the significance of covenant keeping. The major world trouble started with a broken covenant between Adam and God! Adam transgressed the covenant with God by partaking of what was forbidden!

The word 'covenant' and its meaning have been watered down by man to a shadow of what it actually means, but God continues to view a covenant as a serious thing. We have moved from the time when a man's word was his bond, to a time where liars are popular, and the masses stubbornly continue voting to live a lie!  Of those who are barred from the New Jerusalem, God's city from heaven, the Bible says "…without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." Revelation 22:15

God is a covenant keeping God Who looks for a people that will keep covenant. Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;  Deuteronomy 7:9 And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:  2 Chronicles 6:14

In addition to the blood covenant, the covenant of salt which was also a binding covenant, is also mentioned in the Old Testament!

And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. Leviticus 2:13

All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord unto thee and to thy seed with thee. Numbers 18:19

King Abijah of Judah reminded Israel Ought ye not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? 2 Chronicles 13:5

In these days of cheap common salt it's hard to imagine a time when salt was not only precious, but played a significant role in binding covenant relationships. Eating salt with someone was a sacred symbol of pledged friendship and confirmation of a covenant. The  words of Christ, "ye are the salt of the earth" takes on a new meaning in light of the salt covenant. 

The son of perdition ate salt with the Saviour, but betrayed Him and so lost his savor! Judas was given an opportunity at the last supper to share in the communion.  He accepted the offer but then tragically went out shortly after and deliberately broke it! He made himself a curse and cut himself off by breaking the covenant!  He was offered a Covenant with The Lord and deliberately broke it. For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Acts 1:17

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Matthew 5:13. We could probably say that Judas lost his savor, and fell out of favor, when he betrayed his Saviour. He was thence forth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden underfoot of men. Remember that Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another. Mark 9:50  The salt referred to, was not the pure form of sodium chloride we have today, which is one of the most stable compounds. Back then however, when gathered, salt contained some earth and other impurities, so that if the salt was leached out, all that remained was useless dirt that was then cast out.

Three times in His prayer Jesus requested of the Father that His disciples may be one!

And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.  John 17:11 That they may be one as We are! Unity! Intermingled like salt in a shaker! In a salt covenant, when salt from each person was shaken together, the individual grains  are no longer individual, but indistinguishable from each other!

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. John 17:20-21

That we all may be one, as the Father is in the Son and the Son in the Father, so may we be in Them! It presents a powerful testimony and witness to the world! A testimony of unity and trust! We do not belittle or speak evil of each other! Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law:but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another? James 4:11-12

And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. John 17:22-23

Again the emphasis on oneness in Christ...totally different from the Oneness Doctrine! I in them and Thou in me that they may be one even as we are one! The mission of the Christian in this world  is dependent on this oneness in Him!

Why do we have communion? To declare our oneness in His Covenant! To remind ourselves of our covenant oath to the Lord and to each other in Christ! That's why the unbeliever should not eat and drink, because they are not in covenant, or one with The Lord. Breakers of the covenant eat and drink damnation to themselves. In rightly discerning The Lord's Body we are recognizing the unity and oneness of the Body, for Christ is not divided. One of the reasons for weak, sickly, and dead people is failure to rightly discern the Lord's Body. Many of us are more bothered with secret sins, but at the same time engage in the more open sin of not discerning The Lord's Body! Contrary to what many of us may believe, The Lord's Body is not just the bread and wine of the communion, it is also the Church which is His Body!  Our failure to discern this results in breaking covenant with the members of His Body. The Word specifically mentions discerning the Body, not the blood!

Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 1 Corinthians 11:27-31

There are many who withdraw themselves from Body Fellowship. They refuse to partake, or be involved in the Body Ministry, for what they may refer to as personal reasons. We're there and yet not there! We have been telling ourselves that all we want to do is come to church, enjoy or whatever, and then go our way. Then there are others who feel that they must be in charge or not at all. They take offence at being ignored. They become bossy and judgmental. When we're full of ourselves it's impossible to be filled with anything else. Whatever we fill ourselves with, unless it is Christ, it becomes an obstacle to His grace, love and power filling us!

Here is where we need to ask ourselves the question,  Are we in a relationship with The Lord or are we in a Covenant with Him? Sometimes we can hardly wait to call up or email our favorite listener, to delight them with the latest grievance, complaint or judgmental opinion. The eager listeners then becomes a partaker of the evil deed, and in turn invokes the curse on themselves. 

How many go home after church and communion on Sunday morning and begin criticism of the worship team, the prayer, the preacher, the pastor's wife? Sometimes it begins in the car. How many use the time in transporting each other, to fill each other's ears with all the dirt, bad and ugly. The good is seldom, if ever spoken of. Sometimes we try to pass it off as a joke, but we forget the enemy is also listening gleefully while we break our covenant oath. 

In the time of Jesus' life on earth, breaking bread was a common, acknowledged and accepted ritual of covenant relationship. Sharing bread was a very important gesture pledging to protect each other. The salt in the bread was binding! Broken bread symbolizes a willingness to be broken for you. The cup symbolizes a willingness to shed blood on your behalf! HE DID THAT FOR ME! For you!

It's not about what's been done before taking communion, but it's about what's done after we leave the table! What's done before can be dealt with before communion! What's done after, either strengthens the covenant relationship with all its blessings, or break the covenant oath, bringing the curse on all involved. 

Friends who sticks closer than brothers are friends of the covenant. Regardless of what it is, or how you behave, they are not put off, and are willing and determined to be your friend, and support you regardless of what happens. True covenant friends are never offended by you!

Christians were not called to be the sugar of the earth! Many believe that Christianity and Christian preachers should be all about sweet and honeyed words that make you feel good about yourself! We are in a selfish generation that takes pride in its selfishness and flaunts it in grand style! In these days of broken covenants, taste and buy relationships, and general truce breaking, it is very easy to walk and find a gathering that caters to good feelings of the flesh, but with devastating leanness in the soul. My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. Proverbs 5:1-5 It's the state of the modern day church and the religious system today, that John was given a glimpse of, a strange mixture of sweetness, richness, deceit and guile, but riddled with abominations, fornication and filthiness! And it holds a powerful fascination for the believer!

And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. Revelation 17:1-6 It's why God says, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.  Revelation 18:4

Many times people were offended at Jesus for what appeared to be harsh and hard words, They walked away and refused to follow any longer! Here's Peter's response to Jesus' question about whether they will leave also! 

From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve,-- Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. John 6:66-69

Is our commitment stronger than the offense?  It is commitment that caused Paul to refer to ever thing else as skubalon, because his eyes were fixed only on Jesus! When we're easily offended and leave, or threaten to leave, we should check if we were in a covenant relationship. When we believe faithfulness is only attending all services, but fail to be wholeheartedly involved in ministry, we are not in a covenant relationship. Remember Love is not easily offended!

Offense and unforgiveness are constant bedfellows. They walk a lonely path hand in hand together. One calls and waits on the other and refuse to resolve the hurt of each other.

Offense left to fester produces bitterness, which  dulls our heart's sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, but leaves us open to devilish insinuations! When we allow hurt and bitterness to erect walls and barriers against those we love, we also inadvertently shut out the Beloved Saviour, and it becomes more and more difficult to hear His Voice. When we each build our walls against hurt, we become like so many walled cities, bumping each other but not feeling for each other. We look on each other with indifference, mutter a few choice words that evades all involvement, and go on to live our sorry, miserable lives in self imposed solitary confinement. 

To be healed of the heartache, pray sincerely and in love for the one who offended you. Really pray in love. Wallowing in self pity does not heal the hurt. Fervent prayer, and going after the one who offended is necessary, lest we also become covenant breakers. That's why Jesus pursues after us daily. That's why He's willing to leave the ninety and nine and go after the one stray. That's why He offered Judas the covenant symbols. That's why the Father looks out, waiting daily for his prodigal son to return. 

Brethren in Christ are in a covenant with each other. Married couples are in a covenant with each other. There is no covenant when a married couple continue to sleep in separate beds. Children are born to their parents with a covenant. They did not have a choice in who they were born to, but the parent and the child are bound by covenant which should be honored. The Word of  God has a lot to say about how children should conduct themselves with their parents. There is no covenant when we deliberately violate the conditions of the covenant. Only a curse remains! .

How about making a covenant partnership with someone today, to call them, to pray with them, to pray for them, to encourage them! Time spent is prayer with someone cements and glues the covenant relationship with each other. How about making that sacrifice for someone for whom Christ died?