Here are some of the notes from today's message. Thanks to John Ortberg and his message, Living Excellent Lives - Relationally for lots of the content shared in this message.
At the heart of what it means to honor God with your first and best is making promises and keeping promises. “I do.” “I’ll be there.” “You can count on me.”
The Bible word for what lies at heart of making promises and keeping promises is the word “COVENANT.”
Covenant – (beriyth): to bind; a binding agreement; that which binds us together; a solemn vow; a sacred pledge.
God is a covenant making and covenant keeping God.
Some Examples of God’s faithfulness to His Covenant:
• God’s covenant with Noah (Genesis 9:1-17 )
• God’s covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:18; 17:1-21)
• God’s covenant with Israel at Sinai (Exodus 19-24)
• The New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:27-40; Ezekiel 36:22-38; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:25-26).
Some Thoughts About Our “Covenant Keeping” God:
• God never enters into a covenant casually.
• God never goes back on His Word.
2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV), For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ.
• God is faithful, even though we are notoriously unfaithful.
2 Timothy 2:13 (NLT), If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.
The “Covenant Challenge” From Malachi 2:
Malachi 2:10 (ESV), Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
The Message reads, “Why do we desecrate the covenant of our ancestors that binds us together?”
Malachi 2:10 (NIrV), …why do we break the covenant the LORD made with our people long ago? We don't even keep our promises to one another.
1. Marriage Matters To God. Honor Your Marriage Covenant.
Malachi 2:13-16 (NLT), Here is another thing you do. You cover the LORD's altar with tears, weeping and groaning because he pays no attention to your offerings, and he doesn't accept them with pleasure. 14 You cry out, "Why has the LORD abandoned us?" I'll tell you why! Because the LORD witnessed the vows you and your wife made to each other on your wedding day when you were young. But you have been disloyal to her, though she remained your faithful companion, the wife of your marriage vows.
15 Didn't the LORD make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard yourself; remain loyal to the wife of your youth.
16 "For I hate divorce!" says the LORD, the God of Israel. "It is as cruel as putting on a victim's bloodstained coat," says the LORD Almighty.
"So guard yourself; always remain loyal to your wife."
Genesis 2:23-25 (NIV), Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, ' for she was taken out of man." 24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
2. Trust and Faithfulness Are Huge When It Comes To Being A Parent. Keep Your Covenant To Your Kids.
3. Friendship Is Nurtured and Sustained When We Keep Our Promises. Keep Your Covenant With Your Friends.
Malachi 2:10 (NIrV), People of Judah, all of us have one Father. One God created us. So why do we break the covenant the LORD made with our people long ago? We don't even keep our promises to one another.
4. Integrity In The Marketplace Matters. Keep Your Word.
Malachi 2:2-3 (NLT), …because you have not taken my warning seriously. 3 I will rebuke your descendants and splatter your faces with the dung of your festival sacrifices, and I will add you to the dung heap.
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