A NEW YEAR'S COVENANT RENEWAL By John Wesley

THE INVITATION

Dearly beloved: the Christian life, to which we are called, is a life in Christ, redeemed from sin by Christ, and consecrated to God through Christ. We have entered upon this life, having been admitted into that new covenant of which our Lord Jesus Christ is mediator, and which Jesus sealed with his own blood, that it might stand forever.

On one side of the covenant is God’s promise to fulfill, in and through us, all that God declared in Jesus Christ, who is the author and perfecter of our faith. We are sure that this promise still stands, for we have known God’s goodness and proved God’s grace in our own lives day by day.

On the other side, we promise to live no more for ourselves, but for Christ, who loved us even to death. He called us to serve God so that the purposes of Christ’s coming would be fulfilled.

From time to time we renew our vows of consecration—especially when we gather at the Lord’s Table. But today we meet expressly, as generations of our ancestors have met, to joyfully and solemnly renew the covenant which bound them and binds us to God.

WORDS OF ASSURANCE

This is the message we have heard from Jesus and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we walk in the light, as God is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

*COVENANT HYMN Come, Let Us Use the Grace Divine No. 606

(Written by Charles Wesley in 1762 for Methodism’s Covenant Service)

Come, let us use the grace divine, and all with one accord,
In a perpetual covenant join ourselves to Christ the Lord;
Give up ourselves, through Jesus’ power, His Name to glorify;
And promise, in this sacred hour, for God to live and die.

The covenant we this moment make be ever kept in mind;
We will no more our God forsake, or cast these words behind.
We never will throw off the fear of God Who hears our vow;
And if Thou art well pleased to hear, come down and meet us now.

Thee, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, let all our hearts receive,
Present with Thy celestial host the peaceful answer give;
To each covenant the blood apply which takes our sins away,
And register our names on high and keep us to that day!

*THE COVENANT:  And now, beloved, let us bind ourselves with willing bonds to our covenant God, and take the yoke of Christ upon us. This means that we are heartily content that Christ appoint us our place and work, and that Christ alone will be our reward.

Christ has many services to be done. Some are easy, others are difficult; some bring honor, others bring reproach; some are suitable to our natural inclinations and temporal interests, others are contrary to both. In some, we may please Christ and please ourselves; in others, we cannot please Christ except by denying ourselves. Yet the power to do all these things is assuredly given us in Christ, who strengthens us.

Let us engage our heart to the Lord, and resolve in God’s strength never to go back. Being thus prepared, let us now, in sincere dependence on God’s grace and trusting in God’s promises, yield ourselves anew to Christ.

THE COVENANT PRAYER

    O Lord God, holy Father, who has called us through Christ to be partakers in this gracious covenant; we take upon ourselves with joy the yoke of obedience, and engage ourselves, for love of you, to seek to do your perfect will. We are no longer our own, but yours.

Here let the minister and the people unite in saying:

    I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with who you will; put me to doing, put me to suffering; let me be employed for you or laid aside for you; exalted for you or brought low for you; let me be full, let me be empty; let me have all things, let me have nothing; I freely and heartily yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you are mine and I am yours. So be it.  And the covenant which I have made on Earth, let it be ratified in Heaven. Amen.

HE IS THE ALPHA AND OMEGA

In 1994 my father preached this message at Faith Crusaders Church in Urbana, Illinois. Though he went to heaven in 2007, his words are yet inspiring.

"Who is He in yonder stall,

At whose feet the shepherds fall?

'Tis the Lord, O wondrous story!

 'Tis the Lord, The King of Glory! 

At His feet, we humbly fall,

Crown Him, Crown Him

Lord of All!"

Revelation 1:4-8.   

"John to the seven church which are in Asia:  Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits (the Holy Spirit) which are before his throne;  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.  Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.  Amen.  Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him:  and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.  Even so, Amen.  I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, which is to come, the Almighty."

"I am Alpha and Omega!  It is as if He had said, "I am A to Z," for Alpha is the first, and Omega the last letter of the Greek alphabet.  He is our everything.   

If He is the A to Z, then He is the Second Adam.  The first Adam forfeited our life; the second Adam reclaimed it for us.  He is our Advocate, He is the Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, He is the Amen.  He is the Apostle of our Profession, He is the Arm of the Lord, He is the Author and Finisher of our Faith, He is the Author of Eternal Salvation!

He is the Beginning of the Creation of God, the Beloved Son.  He is the Blessed and only Potentate.  He is the BRANCH.  He is the Bread of Life.

He is the Captain of our Salvation, He is the Chief Shepherd, He is the Christ of God, He is the Consolation of Israel, He is the Chief Cornerstone, He is the Counselor, He is the Creator.

He is the Dayspring.  He is the Deliverer, He is the Desired of All Nations.  He is the Door!

He is the Elect of God, He is the Everlasting Father, He is the Faithful Witness, the First and the Last.  He is the First Begotten, and He is the Forerunner that is entered within the veil.

He is the Glory of God, He is God Himself Incarnate, He is God Blessed forever.   He is the Good Shepherd!   He is the Governor.  He is the Great High Priest.

He is the Head of the Church, the Heir of All Things.   He is the Holy Child, He is the Holy One, the Holy One of God, the Holy One of Israel.  He is the Horn of Our Salvation.

He is the Great I AM.  He is the Image of God.  He is Immanuel, God with us!

He is Jehovah, He is Jesus our Savior.  He is Jesus of Nazareth, He is the Judge of Israel, He is the Just One.

He is the King, He is the King of the Ages, He is the King of the Jews.  He is the King of all Kings, and the King of Saints!

He is the Lawgiver.  He is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.  He is our Leader, our Life.  He is the Light of the World.  He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and He is the Lord of All.  He is the Lord of Glory.  He is the Lord of Lords.  He is the Lord our Righteousness.

He is a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief.  He is our Mediator.  He is the Messenger of the Covenant, the Messiah.  He is the Mighty God, He is the Mighty One.  He is the bright and Morning Star.

He is The Nazarene.

He is the Only Begotten Son.  He is our Passover.

He is the Prince of Kings.  He is the Prince of life.  He is the Prince of Peace, and He is our Prophet, Priest and King!

He is the Quencher of thirst for the Water of Life.

He is the Redeemer, the Resurrection and the Life.  He is our Rock and our Salvation.  He is the Root of David, and the Rose of Sharon.

He is our Savior.  He is the Seed of the Woman spoken of in Genesis, and the great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls.  He is the Son of the Blessed, the Son of David, the Son of God.  He is the Son of Man.  He is the Son of Righteousness.

He is the True Light.  He is the True Vine.  He is the TRUTH.

He is the Unleavened Bread that came down from Heaven. 

He is the Vine of whom we are but branches.

He is the true Witness.

And I violate the spelling to say, He is the One who speaks from the more Xcellent Glory!

He is the Word of God, made manifest that we should behold His glory, as of the glory of the Father, full of grace and truth.

He is One who is Yea and Amen!

And what to do for a "Z"?  Why He is Savior of Zacchaeus, and of all who have fallen into the depths and dregs of sin!  Respectable sinners.  Disreputable sinners.  Jesus Christ is Savior of us all.

"Zacchaeus, come down.  I am going to your house today!"  Glorious invitation, and issued yet again:  "Come down in repentance and faith!  Jesus will go home with you today!"

TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY

“Merrrry Christmas!”   The Town Crier lifted his voice above the chatter of villagers excitedly walking down the cobblestone streets of the 16^th century English village.  It might have been Stratford.  Or maybe it was Oxford.  Perhaps it was Epworth.  Actually it was probably all three, and in hundreds of other villages and towns scattered throughout Britain. Then the Crier began to sing:

“GOD rest ye merry Gentlemen,

LET NOTHING YOU DISMAY!

Remember CHRIST our SAVIOR, was born on Christmas day!

To SAVE US ALL from SATAN’S POWER,

When we were gone astray,

OH, TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY!

COMFORT AND JOY!

OH, TIDINGS OF COMFORT AND JOY!”

As I was asking the LORD for direction at this Christmas Season, I was captured by two words of the carol—COMFORT and JOY!  I thought how illusory and temporary is the comfort of this world.

Jesus himself emphasized the difference between that which the world offers, and what He would bring.  In speaking of PEACE, Jesus said, “my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27).

The only PEACE that the world knows is the peace that is imposed by the threat or the actual use of external force.  But THE PEACE THAT IS FROM ABOVE is imparted by GOD to HIS People.  The prophet declares, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee.”  (Isaiah 26:30)

The only COMFORT that the world knows is the comfort that comes from those around us.  I have often been amazed at the silly words people offer to those who are grieving. I’ve stood at the side of the departed and listened as friends have consoled themselves saying, “she has her angel wings now.”  I have no idea where this idea came from, but it certainly wasn’t God’s Word. 

The COMFORT that comes from GOD the FATHER, GOD the SON, and GOD the HOLY SPIRIT is based on the infallible, immutable, Promises of GOD’S WORD.  Our source is the all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present GOD who is the CREATOR of the universe.  Our security is in the CHRIST who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity.  Our assurance comes from the HOLY GHOST who “bears witness with our spirits,” “intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered,” and sanctifies the hearts of the redeemed.

The only LOVE that the world knows is sensual (physical) and temporal.  Too often what the world calls love is actually only infatuation.  The LOVE that comes from Heaven is LOYAL, SPIRITUAL, and ETERNAL!  The Scriptures tell us that this love is longsuffering, always kind, never envious, and does not push itself forward in pride.  The LOVE that GOD imparts,

Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own,

is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Charity never faileth:   (1 Corinthians 13)

The PEACE, the COMFORT, the LOVE of GOD are all so different from that of this world. 

Even the GODLY SORROW is different from the SORROW of this world.  When the world is sorrowful over their misdeeds, they are just sorry they were caught.   But GODLY SORROW, the Bible tells us, WORKS REPENTANCE!  That means that GODLY SORROW brings us to the point of sincere repentance.  We are not only sorrow for our sins, we are sorry enough that we will, with God’s help, turn from them!  All of them!

And there is this truth.  THE JOY OF THE LORD is totally different from the HAPPINESS of this world.  The world’s happiness depends on happenings or circumstances.  They are happy when they get a new car.  They are happy when people applaud them.  They are happy when they sit down to a delicious meal.  But when the car is wrecked, when the crowds are gone, and when the meal is finished, then what?

GODLY JOY is centered in CHRIST.  Jesus encouraged His disciples, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.”  (John 15:11-14)

That’s why CHRISTIANS can take joy even amidst trials and tribulations—they know that their joy is not based on the things of this earth. 

My daughter recently checked out an Apple I-pad from her school library.  As we launched “Google Earth” a program that will literally take you around the world, we looked for the Colosseum in Rome.  It was so amazing to see that screen travel around the world to Italy, then close in on Rome, and finally take us to the Colosseum.  As we looked, I told Tressa about the Christians who died there as thousands of Romans jeered in the stands.  I told her how that parents were forced to watch their children thrown to the lions, how husbands would watch their wives eaten by the ravenous beasts, and how that finally the men would be tortured and killed. 

As we talked about those ominous days, days when thousands were martyred for their faith in Christ, I was reminded again of our Savior who “for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the Father.” (Hebrews 12:2).  

Ah this is a joy that is, as the Apostle Peter tells us, “joy unspeakable, and full of glory!” (1 Peter 1:8).

Dear readers, at this season, do not forget:

OUR COMFORT,

OUR PEACE,

OUR LOVE, and

OUR JOY

are found in the SAVIOR who was born of the virgin in the City of David!  Now that is what I call, “Tidings of comfort and joy!”

ONE NATION UNDER GOD?

Standing and placing our right hand over our heart we face the American flag to respectfully pledge our allegiance to “…one nation under God.” But I’m wondering—are we?

ARE WE “ONE NATION?”


Are we one in purpose? Do we love one another as Christ’s teaching commands, or do we detest each other?

Discord and distrust are on the rise. We call ourselves the “United States,” but increasingly we are the “Divided States of America.”

Immigrants from every part of the globe once streamed into our nation thrilled with the possibility of embracing the American way of life. United by a common faith, a shared culture, a profound respect for liberty, and a deep respect for our great civilization, we became Americans. Out of many, we became one.

But today the gate-keepers of our nation—our national leaders, our educators, and our media both news and entertainment—are trashing Western Civilization as a grotesque blunder. For them liberty is illusory, culture is considered provincial, morality is a matter of personal preference, and faith is devalued as myth (embracing Karl Marx, the father of Communism, they see religion as the opiate of the masses).

The divide couldn’t be more pronounced. One writer laments:

“Half of America views abortion as the killing of the unborn, meriting the wrath of God. The other half regards right-to-life as a reactionary movement and repressive ideology… Advocates of gay marriage see adversaries as homophobic bigots; opponents see advocates as seeking to elevate unnatural acts to the moral and legal status of sacred matrimony…Christmas and Easter, the holy days of Christendom, once united us in joy. Now we fight over whether they may be mentioned in public schools.” The Suicide of a Superpower, p.3

Cynicism has produced skepticism. Skepticism has morphed into disbelief. And disbelief will ultimately destroy us. G. K. Chesterton is right, “When we cease to worship God, we do not then worship nothing, we worship anything.”

ARE WE “UNDER GOD?”


Certainly the courtroom antics of atheists and the classroom efforts of secularists have convinced large numbers of Americans that the wall of separation between the church and the state should insulate the state from the influence of the moral precepts of our Judeo-Christian heritage.

We have been told that the surest way to guarantee liberty is to remove God from our national psyche. Without the constraints of Divine law and the knowledge that God will bring every work into judgment, we will finally be truly free.
But liberty is not the absence of law. Liberty is a blessing secured by adherence to the Law of God as revealed in the Holy Bible.

For example:

Our freedom to live is secured when people observe God’s commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.”

Our freedom to know what is true is secured when people obey the commandment, “Thou shalt not lie.”

Our freedom to own personal property is guaranteed when those around us honor the commandment, “Thou shalt not steal.”

We need God. We need to be a nation “under God.” President Reagan once quipped, “We will either be one nation under God, or we will be one nation gone under.”

Some have tried to redefine God as any higher power we can imagine. But just as the Bible is of no private interpretation—it means what it says not just what we think it says, so the living God is not what we suppose Him to be—He is who He is!

The comedian and atheist Bill Maher taunted Christian believers at the Oscars ceremony in 2009 saying, “our silly gods cost the world too greatly.”

Maher is “absolutely right,” shot back Rod Dreher, “our silly gods have cost the world too greatly.

"The god of hedonism [pleasure] and sexual indulgence…has given us a world of broken marriages, shattered families, the destruction of the traditional family, miserable deaths from AIDS, epidemic teen pregnancy, fatherless children, and the social (even criminal) dysfunction that accompanies such, and a younger generation unmoored from sexual sanity.
The god of money, which rules Wall Street and Washington, has delivered the world to a present and future calamity that will cause suffering not seen in at least a century.

…The truth is not that God has failed us, but that we have failed Him!”

These days it is not hard to see that our nation is heading the wrong direction. Morally, politically, financially, socially, physically, and certainly spiritually we are a nation at risk.

Yet I am convinced that if we were again “…One nation under God,” we would not only find solutions to the perplexing problems of our day, but we could once again be “the city set upon a hill, that cannot be hid!”

When a nation is in decline the citizens lament, “what can I do? I am only one.” When the nation falls they confess, “I could have done my part!”

HERE IS WHAT WE CAN DO!

1. Faithfully Pray! Pray without ceasing. Pray specifically—for ourselves, our families, our churches, our communities, our leaders. Pray that the lost will be saved, that backsliders will be reclaimed, and that Christians will be Pray that the wrong will fail and that the right will prevail! Actually, we need men and women who will fast and pray. These are critical days.

2. Embrace the Truth! Jesus said that “the truth shall set you free.” We need to know God’s Truth as revealed in His Word. That will only happen as we set aside time every day to read and meditate and study the infallible, inerrant Bible.
We need to know the truth about our times. We need to know the truth about our Churches. We need to know the truth about ourselves.

3. Live Righteous Lives. We need men and women who will commit themselves to Christ so that they will think right, do right, and be right. Unless God’s people will purposefully separate themselves from the world, the flesh, and the devil, and determine to be “salt and light” in this wicked and perverse generation, we will continue slouching towards Gomorrah! Virtue is the need of this late hour. Run from sin, avoid the appearance of evil, and follow in the footsteps of Christ.

4. Pursue Holiness. The Bible says “without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” Only “the pure in heart” will see God. Only “the pure in heart” will bring forth “fruit unto holiness.” It is time for God’s people to stop rationalizing their disobedience and rebellion to God and begin actualizing their love for God by surrendering wholly to Him.

5. Work & Witness. Faith and works are inseparable. When we believe God we honor His Word and His Will. Like our Lord Jesus we will be “moved with compassion” when we see those in need. We will share our testimonies, share our blessings, and share life together.

If God’s people across our nation would make these five commitments our nation may escape God’s final judgment. When the very existence of Israel hung in the balance, the Prophet Daniel prayed a prayer we would do well to repeat: (See Daniel 9)

4 O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. …9 To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him…

13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 14 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice…
17 Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake… 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.