Then

I am sure that each person here this morning will agree with me, that as a people we have gone through somethings.

Given the chance I am sure that each person can stand on their feet and tell of the many hardship they and their ancestors before them had to endure.

Talk about a time when you had to raise up early in the morning and work late at night in some body’s field or cleaning somebody’s house, oftentimes being treated like you are a nobody, barely making enough at the end of the week to feed your family, but still you press on day after day, month after month, year after year.

Often time the hardship that we endure as a people brings us closer to God, oftentimes it was in our hardships and pains that songs like " How I made it over" and " Amazing grace" was birth.

Oftentimes you endure the hardship that you endure because you reason in your self that just maybe if I work hard enough and long enough then just maybe my kids will not have to endure this, my son or daughter might go to college and make something of himself. So you suffer the insults and the humiliation and you stand on the word that the preacher preached last Sunday " weeping may endure for a night, but Joy comes in the morning" and so you make yourself feel better and you reason in your heart that this is only for a season.

Well, Well this morning I came by to let you know that the season come, Yes, Yes the season has come and somebody had forgotten to let you know. So that while you were busy holding on to weeping may endure your joy came and if you mess around any longer, you might miss it.

You see your joy came when a virgin in Bethlehem gave birth to a Son, your Joy came early one morning in the stables of Bethlehem when the Lord of Lord and king of King of born.

The Bible states Isaiah 7:14

Your joy came some thirty-three years later, when Jesus was arrested in the garden of getsenemy, and was made to carry his cross, your joy came when they nailed him high, and pierced in the side, the bible said that without the shedding of his blood there will have been no remission for our sins.

 Now whenever I study Scripture I have learned to look beyond the Scripture, like who was God speaking to, when was he speaking to them, for what purpose was God doing this, one thing I have learn about God is that he is a God of Purpose and there are those who will tell you that if you suffer long enough then maybe you will have a breakthrough and if you toil in the fields long enough then maybe this or that,

But I know God as a now God, As a God that when the groaning of the Children of Egypt came to his ear, he remembered his covenant that he made with their forefathers and How because of that covenant he delivered them from bondage and death.

The Bible states that there is not even a shadow of turning with God for he is the same yesterday, today and forevermore

Now as I look at the text I thank God that He is not like man, because men are truce breakers

Because in this text I find that God is making a covenant with this people, a

People that is so important to him that he calls them his people

If my people.

You see these three words is enough to make any born again child of God happy, because you see these three words means that your adoption was recognized, you were an alien in a strange land the bible say that you were a surjoiner in this land,

The Bible says Galatians 4:4-7

But, when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we may receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father. Wherefore, thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ Jesus.

So, in this covenant God is speaking to all the people that were adopted through his son Jesus, all the people who can name the name of Jesus, for at that name every knee shall bow and every tongue.

Confess, that Jesus is lord further God says that you must be call by his name when you become a child of God the name that you used to go by are no longer you name you shall be call son of the most high God.

For the bible states that if any man be in Christ he is a new creature old thing are passed away; behold al things shall be made new.

And here we see God begin to give his people who are called by his name a series of things that they must do before he does what he has to do.

Making it clear that before he moves in our lives we are expected to do something, for so long we has been taught that it don’t take all of that and that God will bless you regardless, for to long we have been expecting God to bless our mess but this morning God is saying to the church, no you first, you have some things that you need to do.

First you need to humble yourself, then you need to pray, and seek God’s face and turn from your wicked ways.

In other words this covenant is two fold, in the second part of the Covenant which we will call the God part, God is saying that in order for him to move and do his part you need to do the first part which we will call your part

Then

You see the word "then" is the key that unlocks this covenant, the word then says I have done my part lord now do yours the word then is like a child saying to his parent I clean my room now can I go out and play.

Then is the key that brings the covenant from just mere word to an actual contract between God and man.

After all what is a contract where only one person has signed on the dotted line, the problem is that for so long there has only been one signature on the dotted line but this morning God Has placed the pen in your hand it is time to sign.

Ah glory be to God when the contract has been sign and you have began to live up to your side of the contract then the real fun starts.

When you start walking in victory then

When you start speaking those things that are not as though they are then

When you start asking then

You all aren’t saying anything

God said that it was I who pluck you out of the mock and marry clay, it was I who wash you up, but when you knew me as God, you gave me not the glory.

When you get sick and tired of being sick and tired, then

When you get tired of hoping from bed to bed, then