ANOTHER COFFEE BREAK: UNDERSTANDING OUR RIGHTS

[Regner A Capener]

Another  Coffee Break: Understanding Our Rights

G’Mornin’, Y’all!

Have  a blessed weekend, did you?Ready to  fire things up for another week?Well,  OK, for the rest of the week?

It’s  hot water and lemon for me today.Maybe  for the next couple of days, actually.Time  to do a flush of toxins out of my system.Hey,  don’t look at me like that!There’s  nothing like drinking hot water and putting in a slice of lemon.Tastes good, and works well.

I  used to get strange looks at the restaurants in the south when I would ask for a  cup of hot water and lemon.The  waiters or waitresses looked at me like I fell out of a spaceship.I can’t tell you how many times they brought me a glass of hot water  and put some lemon slices on a dish.When  you try to explain that the glass is too hot (and sometimes they actually bring  you warm water – not hot) and you  need a cup, they still didn’t get it.

When  Della and I have traveled in Alaska, Canada and the northwest, we tend to order  hot water and lemon.Unless the  restaurant happens to serve gourmet coffee, we just don’t order coffee in the  restaurants because what they serve is either instant coffee (yucckkkk!) or  canned, pre-ground coffee that tastes like last week’s leftover, and has all  the acid to go with it.For whatever  reason, ordering hot water and lemon is pretty common in the northern tier  states.Oddly enough, when Della and  I were in   Washington  ,   DC  and asked for hot water and lemon in the restaurants, no one blinked an eye.

Anyway,  'nuff of that!Hot water and lemon  not only refreshes, it has a real health benefit.The citric acid in the lemon does wonders when used with the hot water.Drink that for three days or so, and you’ll be surprised at what it  does for you.

Several  years ago, I did a series of Coffee Breaks dealing with our Covenant position in  Jesus Christ, and the rights we have in Christ as a result of that relationship.I'd like to revisit a small portion of that discussion and perhaps  amplify that which Holy Spirit has been emphasizing in my spirit of late.This  might take some doing so let me begin by laying a few foundations so you  understand where I'm taking this discussion.

I've  mentioned this before, but there is an aspect of covenant I don't think I've  ever heard discussed in any church or fellowship in my 50+ years of active  ministry.  It is based in a Hebrew word that really has no direct  translation into English.  That word is ãñçkheseed with  the "k" sound almost silent.  Strong's Concordance is literally  all over the map with the word, and without explaining why, gives totally  divergent meanings.

Gesenius,  in his Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon explains the word like this in its primary  applications: to love with intense  desire; to show oneself gracious; zeal (towards anyone); ardor; kindness;  benevolence; the grace, favor and mercy of God; tender mercies; lovingkindness.

Depending  on context, this word does have some opposite uses, but these uses are limited  in Scripture and always occur with appropriate diacritical (breathing) marks.   Because those uses are peripheral to our study, I won't try to get into them  other than to say that they always occur with antiphrasis -- that is, set within  the context of communicating a negative article.

This  word, ãñç kheseed, is -- in my personal opinion -- one of the closest Hebrew words to the Greekagape in usage and meaning.  Appearing most frequently -- actually, almost entirely -- within the context of covenant, it gives us a  picture of the kind of relationship the Lord had with Abraham, and the  extravagant nature of what the Lord was establishing.

ãñçkheseed draws a picture of an  almost intense rivalry in which covenant partners seek to meet each other's  needs, go out of their way to defend, uphold and care for, and to display a  sense of mercy and lovingkindness that knows no bounds even in the face of  dispute or disagreement.

In  one of my Coffee Breaks dealing with the concept of covenant, we talked about  the fact that one of the first events to occur during the covenant ceremony was  the exchange of cloaks or outer coverings.  It symbolized the giving of all  that a person was, making all that he had available to his covenant partner: his  wealth, the resources of his household, the intervention of his family in time  of need or distress, and his personal guarantee or oath upon which the covenant  hung.

Consider  how the Lord showed His cloak during the covenant ceremony.  Abraham is put  into a deep sleep as the Lord shows up to pass between the halved animals and  stand in the blood.  The KJV puts it that"when  the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp  that passed between those pieces."

That's  somewhat obscure in the way it gets translated, but the word translated  "smoking" is the same word that gets used in some instances for cloud  or vapor.  Remember the cloud or pillar of smoke that stood guard for  Israel when the armies of Pharaoh came after them?  Now do you have the  picture?  It is metaphoric of the covering, the defense of the Lord on  behalf of His covenant people.

We'll  come back to this illustration in a few minutes.

ãñçkheseed is the core of  covenant.  It describes what we could call an "alter ego."   Let me explain.

I've  shared this before, but it's worth sharing again.When a person is in a covenant relationship, their covenant partner  virtually becomes their alter ego, their "other self."  I can  probably liken it to a description that folks used to use in referring to Dwain  McKenzie and me during our Long Beach Christian Center days.  We were so  linked to each other in relationship and companionship that even when folks only  saw one of us, they saw the other.  We were frequently referred to as  "the Bobbsey twins" (a reference to two nearly identical twins in the  famous series of children's books).

The  situation developed to the place where when we were in Barrow (we ministered  together in the church I [in my teen years] had helped my Dad build years before  we were at Long Beach Christian Center), people would see me walking down the  street and wave at me with a shout of "Hi, Dwain."  He  experienced the virtually identical thing when folks would say to him, "Hi,  Regner, Hi, Betty June."  (Betty June -- since gone to be with the  Lord -- was his wife at that time).

You've  got to know how strong this identity thing was when my father returned from a  boat trip along the arctic coast where he had been ministering in some villages  and summer campsites and saw Dwain coming to meet him on the beach.  His  first and immediate reaction was, "Well, Regner, what are you doing  here?"  Funny thing.  I was in Nome at the time, and that's a  long ways from Barrow.

Anyway,  you get the idea.

[Here's  a side-note for you.Dwain and I  developed the closest of friendships and have had a bond in the realm of the  Spirit for more than 55 years.We've  had our moments of disagreement, to be sure, (they were so long ago, I've all  but forgotten what they were) but throughout the years there has been a nonstop  bond of love and fellowship between us closer than any ordinary blood  relationships.]

Here's  a good way for me to describe this.Within  the framework of covenant, kheseed  describes a condition in which each other's blood flows in each other's veins:  so deep is the sense of caring and covering for each other.

Now  maybe you can begin to understand how the whole concept of covenant has been so  diluted and watered down throughout the centuries that we've lost the true sense  of it!  Now maybe you can begin to get a grasp on the New Testament  (Covenant) and the use of the word, agape,  as the descriptor by which the Lord commands relationship.

Covenant  relationships defined the character and nature of those in covenant with each  other.  So deep was the sense of responsibility and concern for each other  that they would gladly die for one another if the situation so demanded.   It transferred over to the family members within that covenant so that each  party to the covenant, their wives, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren  -- and even aunts, uncles and cousins -- all became identified with each other.

The  entire Old Testament -- the word "testament" all by itself scarcely  conveys the whole picture -- is a picture of God's covenant, His first covenant  with Abraham and his descendants.  Everything framed in the Old Testament  is described within the structure of covenant relationship.

So  what am I getting at?Why am I  talking about covenant relationships?

While  every covenant brings a level of responsibility between the covenant partners,  it also brings covenant blessings and covenant rights.I could probably really get off track here by talking about this concept  of blessings and covenant rights if I began describing it within the framework  of human covenants, but the covenant we have with the Lord Jesus Christ far  transcends anything human imagination can perceive.In order to explain it properly let me share something that I think a lot  of believers have missed.

Let's  go back to the time when God first made His covenant with Abraham.(See Genesis 15)

The  Lord proceeds to tell him," I am the [same] Lord God that brought thee out of   Ur  of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it."

Abraham  by this time, of course, was well aware of the significance of covenant.   To inherit is to have heirs.  At his age, having children is rare, if not  impossible, so he says to the Lord -- within the framework of covenant-thought," Whereby  shall I know that I shall inherit it."

Now  we're going to see the enactment of covenant -- and this is no ordinary  covenant; this covenant is about as one-sided as you can get!

The  Lord instructs Abraham to bring Him "an heifer of three years old, a  she-goat of three years old, a ram of three years old, and a turtledove and a  young pigeon."

The  animals are slaughtered, their carcasses divided in two parts and laid out with  each half facing the other.  One bird was placed on one side, and the other  bird the other side.  (I don't have time -- and while important, it isn't  specifically relevant to this discussion -- to get into the significance of each  of these animals or birds, and their spiritual implications.  We'll save  that for some later discussion.)  Suffice it to say that the halved  carcasses were placed far enough apart that Abraham could stand between them and  the Lord could pass between them.

The  significance of this IS relevant since the parties to this covenant would be  standing and/or walking in blood as the covenant was struck.Why?

The  Lord spoke to Moses and said (Leviticus 17:11), "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and  I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for  it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul."

Understand?Like every other member of the human race, Abraham had been born under  and grown up under the same curse that came after Adam and Eve ate of the Tree  of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.That  curse was death!That curse was  poverty!That curse was the  requirement to work and toil for one's living instead of working so that one  could have the wherewithal to give.That  curse brought about a break in fellowship and communion between man and God.

Because  the first part of the curse was death itself -- and the degenerative and  decaying process had entered the blood of every human being, as well as their  genetic structure -- God designed and established the physics AND the spiritual  order of things so that blood had to be shed as a redemptive measure in order to  reverse that death process.The Lord  had first done this with Adam and Eve by the shedding of the blood of lambs or  sheep in order to provide them with skin coverings.Abel had that revelation when he brought to the Lord (Genesis 4:4) the  first and best of the lambs from his flock.

Once  again, let's go back and re-read the passage from Genesis 15 which contains such  a stupendous revelation of this covenant the Lord was making with Abraham.

"And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon  Abram; and, lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him. And  he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them  four hundred years; And  also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they  come out with great substance. And  thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. But  in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the  Amorites is not yet full.

And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was  dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those  pieces. In the same day  the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this  land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The  Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the  Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the  Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

I  thought I was going to get to finish this discussion with one single Coffee  Break, but it is obvious to me that's not going to happen.Let's pick up this discussion in a few days and we'll finish it with Part  Two.

Sadly,  there are many Christians who are cheated out of their inheritance and their  rights as citizens of the Kingdom of God; and they are cheated because they  neither know what they have a right to, nor do they understand that everything  they have a right to has been either withheld until they exercise the same faith  that Abraham exercised, or they fail to recognize that Satan has stolen what  rightly belongs to them.

My  objective in sharing is to help God's people receive what they are entitled to  -- and even more than that, in so doing see that Jesus Christ receives His  inheritance in a people who boldly and unashamedly walk in their inheritance in  Him, displaying God's glory in the process!

Make  sense?Good!See you again in a few days. 

[Back in the early 1980's I served for roughly three years as an  advisor to the area board of Aglow in Fairbanks.Seven years later I served in the same capacity in Anchorage.The following prophetic Word comes from Jane Hansen-Hoyt who is President & CEO of Aglow International.This  Word was shared November 7th.]

Last  evening a President was elected to another term of office in the United States.  It was a measured victory with half of the nation voting for the other  candidate. Such a divided vote speaks to the reality that we are a nation  divided on many issues, serious issues, that continue to profoundly change  America. We have seen historically what occurs when a nation continually turns  from the principles of God's Word to walk in its own ways.

As  you might imagine, there are many voters who are concerned with the outcome of  this election. While I am certain that we, as Believers, must continue to make  our prayers heard in the gates of our respective nations, I also want to remind  us of our true purpose.

When  Pilate questioned Jesus about being "King of the Jews," Jesus  answered, "My Kingdom is not of this  world!" Pilate therefore said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You  say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born and for this cause I  have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who  is of the truth hears My voice" (see John 18:33-37).

Jesus  knew who He was. His identity was secure. His purpose was focused. He could not  be turned aside by people's opinion of Him or the questions they asked. He never  once wavered in the purpose for which He had come, which was to demonstrate the  realities of another Kingdom. That Kingdom was vastly different from the world  around Him. He had come to establish a new mindset, a new culture, and a new  way. We, as the followers of Jesus, have been sent into the world to continue  what Jesus began.
  Think of Pilate's response to Jesus: "Do  You not know that I have power to crucify You?" (see John 19:10). In  essence, Pilate was saying that he had the power to destroy Jesus and all that  He had come to do in the earth! The bold answer of Jesus captured the totality  of the situation, even as it does ours, "You  could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from  above" (verse 11).

Jesus  knew that there was a greater purpose He had been sent to accomplish. While  things around Him swirled in opposition to that purpose, He walked in total  confidence that God, His Father, was in control and would not allow any  deviation from the plan.

Nothing  has changed! We, too, walk in the knowledge that God's plan is marching on. We  are the people of another Kingdom. We have joined ourselves to Him in that  purpose, as we move on with Him. The hour is more critical than we know and our  prayers and worship more vital than we perhaps see. It is the time of our  arising. We have stepped into a new place in our identity and purpose. Do not be  moved by what you see and hear. Keep your eye single and you will be filled with  the light of His revelation as we walk forward together, male and female, taking  dominion.

Blessings on you!

Regner

Regner  A. Capener

CAPENER MINISTRIES

709  South 7^th Street

Sunnyside, Washington 98944

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