Covenant Benefits
Psalm 91:14-16 says, “Because he hath set his love upon Me therefore will I deliver him, I will set him on high because he hath known My Name. He shall call upon Me and I will answer him, I will be with him in trouble, I WILL DELIVER HIM AND HONOR HIM. With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation.” We all would agree that there is a truth to the fact that God should receive honor from men. But did you notice in these verses that God wants to honor us? The Creator of all the heavens wants to honor us. However, this benefit does not happen automatically. These benefits that are mentioned in these verses are conditional. Conditional upon what? Upon setting our love and desires on pleasing God. When you choose to set your love upon God you are entering into a covenant relationship with Him. Like a marriage, you vow to honor Him and cherish Him in life by the decisions you make. The Bible even compares our relationship with the Lord to a marriage. (Ephesians 5:25)
There are benefits to being in this kind of relationship with God. Psalm 103:2-3 says, “Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all His BENEFITS: Who forgives all your iniquities (sins), Who heals all your diseases.” If we are not careful we will forget the benefits of knowing the Lord. The benefits are clearly marked. This forgiveness of sin includes a complete spiritual rinsing of all shame and guilt caused by disobedience. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man (women included) be in Christ he is a NEW creature; OLD THINGS HAVE PASSED AWAY; behold all things have become new.” When we decide to enter into that RELATIONSHIP with Christ, He makes us new. As far as God is concerned we no longer have a past. How would you feel if your past was erased and you had a new beginning in life? That is something that excites me. I made quite a few bad choices in my past but God has separated all that from me. (Psalm 103:12)
The benefits did not stop there. They continue. Psalm 103:3 says that God “heals ALL your diseases.” For ages church people have tried to say that our disease is sin itself and that God is only interested in our spiritual nature. God already dealt with our spiritual nature in the first half of that verse when he forgave our sins. Now he wants to heal our natural body. Some people say that God doesn’t heal anymore. If that’s true then He doesn’t forgive anymore because these benefits are mentioned together. Notice it says benefits. That’s plural meaning there is more than just one benefit. Praise the Lord; He still does both the forgiving and the healing. God has more than just a loving desire to see us walk in the promises He has provided; He has a covenant obligation to perform His Word in our lives when we actively love Him and believe on Him.
Pastor Tim
Family Church Jamestown is a non-denominational church located in Chautauqua County in Jamestown between Lakewood and Busti, NY. The senior pastor of Family Church is Pastor Tim Stahlman a native to the Jamestown, NY area.
