The Blood Covenant | Part 2

Jonathan and David's blood covenant is a biblical principle that permanently unites two people who were very close friends entered into covenant. There was a mutual mingle of healing of lives, and it involved, number one, a sharing of possessions. There was also a sharing of protection, and then this covenant reached perhaps the highest form. Not only was there a sharing of possessions and a sharing of protection, but a sharing of personhood itself. Look again in verse 3. Then Jonathan and David made a blood covenant because he loved him as his own soul, that is, as his self. As his self.

A sharing of personhood. You could not have had a deeper commitment than Jonathan and David made one to the other this day, because they are now blood brothers. Finally, however, Jonathan and Saul have been slain by the Philistines, and they're now dead. And God has seen to it that David, his anointed, has become king over Israel. Now he goes into the palace.

He's ready to take over, and he asks a question. Look at it in 2 Samuel 9, verse 1. And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?

Because, you see, when a man entered into covenant with another man, not only did he enter into covenant with that man, but he also entered into covenant with the relatives, the children, the offspring of that man. And an old servant spoke up whose name was Ziba, and he said, Oh yes, I know. And Ziba somehow was privy to the fact as to where Mephibosheth was, and he told King David about this young man who had now grown up as a cripple living out there in this hideout. And so David said, Go get him and bring him to me. He comes in, his crutches go to either side, and he falls prostrate on the ground in front of David.

And then notice what David says in 2 Samuel 9, verse 7. He comes the next morning. He's asleep there on those beautiful soft mattresses, those silken sheets, and the servants come in and nudge him gently about 9 o'clock. Would my lord Mephibosheth like to arise now? Here's a basin for my lord Mephibosheth to wash his hands. Oh, my lord Mephibosheth, the king requires your presence at breakfast.

Would you like to come down to breakfast? And Mephibosheth comes down to breakfast. And there's the king's table. And there are the king's sons. And right at the king's right hand is an empty chair. Would my lord Mephibosheth be seated there, please? There's that beautiful white linen tablecloth covering the table, just groaning with good things. Mephibosheth puts his mangled feet beneath that white linen. They're not even seen at all. He's sitting up there from the table up.

He looks like everybody else. Just sitting up there because those things are hidden by God's Word. God's grace. And he's sitting there at the table having such a wonderful time. And after a while, he gets to feeling at home. And so he says, pass the biscuits, please. And David takes that tray of biscuits and passes them on down. And as they pass by, Mephibosheth looks at David's wrist. And on David's wrist, he sees a scar. Because in these days when they would make a covenant where the wound was, they would rub dark powder into it and leave a mark there. It was called the mark of the covenant to remind them. And Mephibosheth sees that scar on David's wrist. And he says, it's all because of the covenant that my father made with David so long ago. I don't deserve it.

I'm not certain I understand it completely. But I'm not going to deny it. And bless God, I'm going to enjoy it. What does that have to do with those of us who are Christians tonight? What does that have to do with those of us who are saved? Well, I want to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, that all of the Bible is about the blood covenant. Did you know that the Bible is divided into two parts? Well, you knew that, didn't you? Nod your head.

I asked you a question. You just said there are. It's divided in two parts. There's the Old Testament and the New Testament. Do you know what the Old Testament and New Testament and another way of saying that is the Old Covenant and the New Covenant? Did you know that the word covenant are the same word? And so the Bible is divided into two parts, the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. And every blessing that you receive is a covenant blessing. And the Bible says the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant.

And I want to show you tonight the covenant that God has made with you. Because if you not understood it, what happened to David and Jonathan and Mephibosheth so long ago is a glorious gloriously marvelous illustration of what happened to you when you became a Christian, a child of God. You see, 2,000 years ago on the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ entered into a blood covenant with God the Father on your behalf on the cross. When Jesus died upon that cross, he entered into a blood covenant. Take your Bibles now and turn to Luke chapter 22 with me for a moment. I'm substituting what we call the last supper. And in Luke chapter 22, look with me in verse 20. Likewise also the cup after the supper saying, this cup is the new covenant.

Now remember, I can say it that way and be perfectly correct. The words mean exactly the same. This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is shed for you. That is the cup that we take when we take the last supper. The Lord's supper represents a blood covenant. This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is shed for you. When Jesus Christ died upon the cross, he was making a blood covenant with God the Father. Now remember that in a covenant, there is a sharing of blood.

There is a mingling of blood. And I want to get a little technical with you, but I want to ask you what kind of blood was shed on that cross? Well, was it human blood? Indeed it was, because Jesus Christ was a human.

He was a man. Was it divine blood? Indeed it was, for Jesus Christ was God. And the Bible in Acts 20 speaks of the church which God had purchased with his blood. Whose blood?

God's blood. Now on that cross, when that blood was shed, in a strange way, the blood of God and the blood of man were mingled. There was a covenant between God and man made at that cross. You see, Jesus was the God-man, as much man as though he were not God at all, as much God as though he were not man at all. He wasn't half God and half man. He wasn't all man and no God. He wasn't all God and no man. He was the God-man. The God-man, never another like him. And on that cross, when Jesus died, what he was doing is making an immutable, unbreakable, everlasting covenant between the sons of men and Almighty God.

And because of what Jesus Christ did for me, what Jesus Christ did for you, we can be forgiven. I want you to see how Mephibosheth, therefore, represents you as an unsaved sinner. I want you to look at these things about Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was an enemy by birth.

So are we. He was born into the wrong family. He was born into the household of Saul. Not only was Mephibosheth an enemy by birth, but Mephibosheth was crippled by a fall.

So have we been. In the Garden of Eden, we were all spiritually and morally crippled. And so Mephibosheth could not come himself. He had to be sought, and he had to be brought, and so do we. Not only that, but Mephibosheth was living in exile. He was meant to be a king. He was meant to reign, but he'd lost his inheritance. So were you meant to be a king. So were you meant to reign. God made man to have dominion, but we've been living in exile. We've been living in a spiritual lotibar. We've been living in a place of no pasture.

We've been living in the backside of nowhere. Mephibosheth was under the sentence of death. He deserved death. So do I.

So do you. Mephibosheth knew that he deserved death. He said, Who am I that you should look upon such a dead dog as I am? He knew it. I mean, he knew he didn't have a prayer.

He didn't have a chance, according to the rules of this world. A dead dog, that's what he thought of himself. And, dear friend, he was under the sentence of death. And then again, he thought that David was his enemy when he was born.

David was his friend. And there you have a picture of every man, every woman, every boy, every girl outside of Christ, deformed, dethroned, doomed, and deceived. That's what this man was.

That's what we all were. Deformed, dethroned, doomed, and deceived. And so here was Mephibosheth this way. Now he could not come. He had to be sought. He would not come. He had to be brought, but he still had a decision.

That he had to make. Now, I want to look at two verses side by side, and if they bless you like they blessed me. When I looked at them side by side, you're going to get blessed tonight. The first scripture I want us to go back to 2 Samuel 9 and verse 1. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 32. Be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Kindness for Jonathan's sake, God for Christ's sake forgiving you. Do you see the picture? Do you see the parallel?

Do you see the illustration? Just as David forgave Mephibosheth for Jonathan's sake, God has forgiven him. He has forgiven me for Christ's sake.

Look at it again. Be ye kind, one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Now what did Mephibosheth receive when David forgave him so long ago? Go back, if you will, to 2 Samuel 9 and let's look at it for a moment. I want to mention several things that you receive when you enter into a blood covenant with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you want to see what they are? First of all, look in chapter 9 verse 7. The first thing you're going to receive is the king's forgiveness, verse 7. And David said unto him, Fear not. That means you're forgiven.

The sentence of death is no longer on you. David said to him, Fear not, for I will surely show thee kindness. And remember that word kindness and loving kindness is a blood covenant word. That's the reason David knew in Psalm 51 he could be forgiven. According unto thy what?

Loving kindness. According unto thy loving kindness. I will surely show unto him the kindness for Jonathan, thy father's sake. And so the very first thing that we have, praise God, hallelujah, because of the blood covenant that the Lord Jesus Christ made on the cross is that we have the king's forgiveness.

But not only do we have the king's forgiveness, we have the king's fellowship. Look, if you will, in the last part of verse 7. And thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. Then look at the last part of verse 10. But Mephibosheth, thy master's son, shall eat bread always at my table. Now look at the last part of verse 11. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table as one of the king's sons.

And then look again in verse 13. At the king's table. Four times the Holy Spirit mentions this one thing, that Mephibosheth is eating at the king's table. Now in this day and in that day and in every age and in every day to sit down at somebody's table as their guest signifies the most intimate of fellowship. And so not only did he receive the king's forgiveness, he received the king's fellowship.

To sit at the king's table. And I want to tell you, friend, that forgiveness is not the best part of salvation. Thank God for forgiveness. But being saved is far more than getting your sins forgiven.

That's all some people think about. But you get your sins forgiven so that you can have fellowship with the king. And here he is sitting there, not just one meal. But David said, you're going to eat bread at my table continually.

Look in verse 7. Continually. I tell you, if you just got one invitation to go up to the White House and have dinner, your friends would never get bread. Hear the end of you telling about it, right?

Just one time. Eat bread at my table continually. But now watch. Not only is there the king's forgiveness, and not only is there the king's fellowship, but there's also the king's fortune. Read verses 9 and 10. When you get saved, you also get the king's fortune. The Bible says the meek will inherit the earth. We are heirs and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus. And just as Mephibosheth received servants, you have received servants.

You say who? Angels. Ministering spirits that are serving us and wait upon the children of God.

Unseen angels that are God's special agents and servants to work for his dear children. But wait a minute. It even gets better. Not only is there the king's forgiveness, and not only is there the king's fellowship, and not only is there the king's fortune, but look in verse 11. And here's the apex.

Here's the zenith. The last part of verse 11. As former Mephibosheth said the king, he shall eat at my table as one of the king's sons. The king's family.

You can't get better than that. Behold, what manner of love the father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called what? The sons of God. The sons of God. Sons of Almighty God through the blood covenant. And when God looks at us because of what Jesus Christ did upon that cross, God sees us and sees in us what he sees in his own dear son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we sit at his table enjoying his fellowship as one of the king's sons. Now, see what that means to us. One day we were rebels. We were outcasts. We were ruined.

We were crippled. Then we received Jesus Christ as our personal savior. Then we ratified the terms of the covenant. Then we agreed with the terms of the covenant. We said yes to our heavenly David, and in the next day we're seated in heavenly places. We are royal blue bloods, seated with the king. The wealth of heaven and earth is ours. The meek shall inherit the earth. We're heirs and joint heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ.

We have now a new relationship. We are now sons and daughters of Almighty God. And do you know what happens when that dawns upon us or when somebody tries to tell us that? Our first thought is we'll bow our heads and say, I'm not worthy of that. I'm not worthy of that. And then the devil will sidle up alongside of you and you say, you're absolutely correct. You are not worthy of that.

And he will start to enforce that. Now, friend, let me tell you something. You need to stop that kind of thinking. What Nancy said, it is not because of who I am. It is not what I've done.

It is whose I am. Now, listen. The next time the devil gets on your case and the next time the devil tells you that you're not worthy, please don't argue with him.

I'll tell you why. You'll lose the argument because you're not worthy. Don't argue. Oh, yeah, I'm worthy. No, you're not worthy. You are no more worthy than Mephibosheth was worthy. And the way to get out of that predicament when the devil tells you that you're not good enough, you're not worthy enough, you don't deserve it, is just agree with the devil and then point him to the blood covenant, step out of the argument. And now the argument's between the devil and God.

And guess who's going to win? Just point him to the blood covenant and say, of course I'm not worthy. This is the kindness of God for Jesus' sake.

I'm in the blood covenant. That means that the possessions of Jesus are my possessions. That's one thing. That means that the protection of Jesus is my protection.

That's another thing. But bless God, that means the person of Jesus is my person. His life and my life are mingled forevermore. And I am one with the Lord Jesus Christ and I am part and parcel with him, never to be separated. What a friend we have in Jesus. We are friends. There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother who will never forsake me, never fail me and his name is Jesus.

Psalm 25 verse 14, the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him and he will show them his covenant. I no longer need to be a slave to feelings because feelings don't have anything to do with it. I no longer be intimidated by my weakness. It's not my responsibility. It's my response to his ability.

Okay. Praise his name. I want to tell you something, friend. It's wonderful to be a part of the blood covenant. To know when the Lord Jesus Christ gave us that memorial supper, he was reminding us of a truth that we should never forget. This cup is the new covenant in my blood which was shed for you. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him and he will show them his covenant.

There's no need, therefore, for you, my dear friend, to live like a beggar and to die like a pauper when you can live like a prince and a king, a son of God, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Will you receive Christ tonight? Will you trust the one who died for you? Will you tonight, by faith, ratify the blood covenant and say, yes, I want to receive the benefits that Jesus entered into with the Father for me so long ago?

Calvary's cross. Why don't you pray like this? Just pray a prayer like this, Lord Jesus. I'm a sinner and I'm lost and I need to be saved and I want to be saved. Jesus, you died to save me. You promised to save me if I would only trust you. I do trust you, Jesus, right now with all of my heart forever. Thank you for saving me, Jesus.

Now give me the courage to make it public and not to be ashamed of you. In your name I pray, amen. Welcome to God's Forever Family.

Let us hear from you today. Now if you'd like to order a copy of today's message, you can call us at 1-877-LOVEGOD and request the title, The Blood Covenant. This message is also part of the insightful series, Live Like a King. For that complete collection, a dozen powerful messages, call 1-877-LOVEGOD or order online at lwf.org slash radio or write us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. Adrian Rogers said, Jesus came to earth to make a blood covenant that we might enjoy what we have with our Lord.

Share the wealth of his possessions and rest in the shadow of his protection. And we hope you'll join us next time for more from Adrian Rogers right here on Love Worth Finding. Here's some encouragement from a listener we received not long ago. Pastor Rogers is probably the best preacher I've ever heard. I never get tired of listening to him preach the word of God in his unique and compelling way. I support this ministry because I know it is of God and his messages still resonate in the hearts of men and women. We are so thankful for the prayers and the gifts that enable us to share these timeless messages and the resources we develop. When you donate to the ministry this month, we want to send you a hardcover copy of our new book, 25 Days of Anticipation. This new devotional resource will help you see the birth of our Savior in a new and beautiful way just in time for the upcoming Advent season. Request this book when you call with a gift at 1-877-LOVEGOD or you can give online at lwf.org slash radio. And thank you for your generous support of Love Worth Finding.