Glorious Way Church
Glorious Way Church equips believers for the work of the ministry and stands for God’s truth in our culture. We serve as a regional center, where people from all backgrounds find refreshing worship and true communion of the saints.
Glorious Way Church
The Blood Covenant | Mark Hankins
This message encourages us to stand strong in faith when life feels uncertain or overwhelming. It reminds us that God’s Word is a firm foundation we can rely on, even when our circumstances don’t yet match what we’re believing for. By speaking His promises with confidence and choosing faith over fear, we position ourselves to experience His peace and assurance. Listeners are reminded that God is always working behind the scenes, and we can trust His timing and faithfulness.
We'll start here and we'll see where we end up. Praise the Lord. Romans 1, 16, 17,. We're going to talk today about the blood covenant. We're just going to start with Romans 1, 16, because it's such an easy place to start and you probably know these scriptures well. Yes, thank you. The gospel of Christ is the power of God. Everybody say the power of God is the power of god. Everybody say the power of god. Amen. We know god has unlimited power, but he says the gospel of christ is the power of god. Or other translations say the gospel, uh, contains the power of god. The gospel of Christ contains what power of God? The center of the gospel, the center.
Speaker 1:When we use the word gospel, like sometimes people say they sing gospel music. Well, you know there's different kinds of music. There's Christian music, but if it's going to be gospel music, then the word gospel means it has to have in that song something pertaining to the blood of Christ, the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the love of Christ has got to be in that song. Or it's a praise song but it's not a gospel song. In other words, the gospel means it's got to have redemptive doctrine in that message. So gospel music. So we just sang some gospel music and the word gospel simply means a message that makes you glad. So if you're not glad, either you don't understand the gospel or you don't believe it, because the moment you believe the gospel you're the happiest people in Houston, texas, and when you believe the gospel, right. So the word gospel means good news or glad tidings, makes you glad.
Speaker 1:The center of the gospel we know from first Corinthians, chapter 15, verse 1 through 4 the center of the gospel is what Paul said. I I preach unto you the gospel that Jesus died, he was buried and the third day he was raised from the dead. So the center of the gospel is really just what you'd call those events of the death, burial, resurrection of Christ. Those events are what the center of the gospel. Or you could say what happened on the cross cross. Or you could say in the four gospels matthew, mark, luke and john you can see the teachings of jesus. But when you study the four gospels, a disproportionate amount of space is given to what we would call the via dolorosa, the events that lead up to the crucifixion of Christ. What happened in the death, in the resurrection of Christ. In other words, you'll have this much information, teaching, but when it comes to the cross or the death of Christ that's the reason he came, he said is to die. So something's gonna happen on the cross, amen.
Speaker 1:That you may not understand everything about theology, but you better know that. Let's try this side over here. I said you may not understand all theology and eschatology come on and ecclesiology but you need to know, I know, what happened on the cross, amen. Because that's the center of the gospel. It's the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. So you got to know what happened. So in the four Gospels Matthew, mark, luke and John you'll see what happened to Christ.
Speaker 1:But in Paul's revelation you see what happened in Christ. Does that make you understand that? In other words, for gospel, you'll see Jesus going to the cross and you know we call it the Via Dolorosa, the place of sufferings where he was beaten on the way to the cross. So you see what happened to Christ. But in Paul's letters you see a bigger picture than what you would see the physical sufferings of Christ. Or you'll see in Paul's letters what happened in Christ. So that's a number. One phrase in Paul's letters is the two words in Christ, amen.
Speaker 1:So different interpretations of what happened from the death and resurrection of Christ. I would say something simple like this that the four gospels give you a photograph of redemption, the death and resurrection of Christ. Paul's letters give you an x-ray. Same picture, different kind of picture Photograph. You see the outside X-ray, you see the inside. So the four gospels, you see what man saw. But in Paul's letters you see what man saw, but in Paul's letters you see what God saw. So something happened. Oh, I feel like just slapping somebody on Sunday morning just to make you wake up, man, because something happened on the cross that literally to undo everything Satan did in Adam and to To undo everything Satan did in Adam and to dethrone the devil and defeat him and to redeem and purchase your freedom and set you 100% free, make you a new creature in Christ, make you the righteousness of God in Christ and give you access, by the blood of Christ, right into the Holy of Holies anytime, day or night, and for you to have the Holy Spirit move on the inside of Christ, right into the Holy of Holies anytime, day or night, and for you to have the Holy Spirit move on the inside of you, make you a whole new kind of person that never existed before.
Speaker 1:So what happened in the death and resurrection of Christ? So theologians will break it down and they'll say well, several views. In other words, there's not just one view of what happened. To explain what happened on the cross, whatever happened there, the apostle Paul saw what happened and it totally changed him. So if you really want to be changed, you got to know and you got to see what happened on the cross, in the death of Christ, in the burial of Christ Are y'all still with me here? And what happened when he was raised from the dead. So there's several views. You know in the big theology book and they'll say one thing that happened on the cross.
Speaker 1:We call it the ransom view. The ransom view, in other words, in the ransom view of what happened in the death and resurrection of Christ, you and I were being held hostage by a power greater than ourselves and Jesus entered death to release the hostages and to destroy the one that was holding you captive, which is the devil, to destroy the Lord of death. They call that the ransom view. He entered death to spoil, strip and dethrone the devil. The next view they call it the substitutionary view. Substitutionary view means that on the cross, jesus was your substitute. He's not a martyr, he said, nobody's taking my life from me, but he became a substitute, which means he was made to be sin for us, amen. And he died in our behalf. Or you could say it this way everything Jesus did, he did it for us, set to the credit of our account, just like we were there. So you call that substitution and identification and union with Christ. Everything Jesus did, he did it in our behalf.
Speaker 1:The most beautiful picture is Isaiah 53, where he says Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him, stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquity. The chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed, praise the Lord. So, even though your peanut brain not yours, but maybe the person next to you cannot fully comprehend the necessity and the significance of Jesus dying on the cross 2,000 years ago, but just seeing him die on that cross and hearing the message of the gospel somehow registers beyond your brain and hits you in your heart and you just go. I don't know everything that happened there, but Jesus loved me and gave himself for me and we call that substitution. Surely, he has born. The word born. There is the word NASA, which means he has lifted from us. Everybody say nasa. What's that mean? Lift off? So when you go to the cross and you see what Jesus has done or you believe the gospel, what happens? There's a lift off happening. He has born, lifted off from me my grief, my sorrow, my shame, me, my grief, my sorrow, my shame, my sicknesses, my diseases, my poverty, everything the devil tried to put on me. When I look to the cross, I see the blood of Christ. I go. He lifted that off from me. He just set me free. Praise the Lord.
Speaker 1:We were talking the pastor yesterday for lunch. We were talking about Chris Christopherson song, which is why me Lord. Hey, I've heard that song. It used to be a very, very famous song. He's gone on to be with the Lord, passed away not too long ago, but Chris christopherson. So he was on this, uh, country westerns, uh, on a youtube show. So I was watching because I like that song. Why me, lord? What did I ever do to be worth? You know you're loving me and stuff like that. Maybe I could get where's patrick. He can sing that song for me there. He is all right, pastor. You know that song. Anyway, pastor, you might sing it for us. You want to hear him sing it for us? Why me Lord? Do you really know the words? Anyway, you know the words. Why me Lord? He's looking them up right now, anyway. Anyway, so here you had Chris Christopherson and you had Willie Nelson sitting there and they're both playing the guitar, and so we're not sure if Willie's all there or not, but he was there, ponytail and all you know, here's Willie and he. You know he's getting a little bit older nowadays, right?
Speaker 1:So the interviewer asked Chris Christopherson this song why Me Lord, why Me Lord? He said Where'd you get that song from? He said why don't you sing it for us? But where'd you get that song from? He said Well, let me tell you. He said I went to a church in Nashville on a Sunday morning and I never go to church, but it was Jimmy snow's church and another a who, what? Who was it? Thanks, no, was the pastor the right? So he said I want to hate snow church in Nashville. And he said and another late, another woman singer brought in and I forgot who it was. Anyway, so he said she made me go to church with her.
Speaker 1:So we went to Nashville Church, hank Snow's church, so he said, and I was sitting there and he said so he started asking people if any of you would like to receive Jesus as your Lord. He said raise your hand. He said, and I was sitting there and he said I was thinking because I never go to church. He said I was thinking, well, that's certainly something I would never do, he said. And then I found my hand going up in there. He said that's certainly something I'd never do. My hand went up in there and he said now, he said Jimmy Snow.
Speaker 1:The pastor said yeah, no, jimmy Snow, I think, said if you uh want to receive the Lord, then I want you to stand up and come forward. And he said I was sitting there thinking well, now, that's something I certainly would never do. And then I found myself getting up, going to the front and the pastor. He said come over to me and said so did you? Why did you come forward? He said well, I'm really not sure. He said well, would you like to receive, you know, the Lord Jesus? And he said well, I guess so. So he said the pastor kind of put his hand on his shoulder and pushed him down.
Speaker 1:They both got on their knees and he and he said repeat this prayer. And he said so. I prayed to receive Jesus as my Lord, he said. And when I did, I had the most awesome experience with the Lord. He said it's like the presence of God. Something I never experienced before came over me and I started crying like a baby. I could not stop crying. He said then this awesome forgiveness came over me and forgiveness just came over me and forgiveness just washed over me which I didn't even know that I needed. Are y'all still here? I mean to me it's one of the most honest things that God can say which I didn't even know that I needed. And this forgiveness came over me and it's like the weight of everything lifted off from me. So he says so could you sing that song for us? Yeah.
Speaker 1:And so he wrote that song after that experience of receiving Jesus as his Lord, which he did not fully comprehend. Now, don't look at anybody right now, but let me explain this to you. You don't fully comprehend with your peanut brain what happened 2,000 years ago on the cross when Jesus died and shed his blood and came to give you eternal life and to lift your sins and your grief and your sorrows off of you and get a new heart on the inside of you, make you a new creation in christ and give you eternal life, and for the holy spirit, now in the presence of god, to flood you. You don't really comprehend that, so you'll just have to study it for a while, but when you just bring it up, your spirit goes.
Speaker 1:Something happened on that cross, something happened Through death. He entered into death to destroy him. That had the Lord of death. In other words, he used the cross as an entrance. Come on, not just to heal and bless a few people, the parameters but to enter into the headquarters of evil that had tormented men for thousands of years and totally destroy the devil. Come on and Jesus said this gospel must be preached all over the world, every nation, every language. It is the power of God and it will produce salvation.
Speaker 1:Let's try that one more time. It will produce salvation to everyone that will believe. Praise the Lord. Therein is the righteousness of God, revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, what the just shall live by faith. So the gospel is what power of God. The events in the center of the gospel are what? The death, the cross, the burial, resurrection, the triumph of Christ. Your confession that Jesus is lower registers on your heart in heaven and over hell. Simple confession Jesus is my Lord.
Speaker 1:What happened on the cross, why it was necessary and the different views. Number one he entered death to destroy him. They had the power of that. Number two is substitution identification with christ. Number three is called the blood covenant. Everybody say the blood covenant, everybody say the blood covenant. So the bible, old covenant, new Testament, new covenant, the blood covenant, the power of the blood of Jesus, the power that's in that blood, in other words, the gospel, is the power.
Speaker 1:Listen close. The resurrection of Christ is the greatest display of power in the history of the universe. In other words, when Jesus was raised from the dead, god did not just release enough power to raise him up. Or when Jesus was raised from the dead, he did not just overcome rigor mortis. When God raised Jesus from the dead, the greatest display of power in the history of the universe, paul said, is exceeding, great, unlimited, immeasurable power that raised Christ from the dead and that power is towards us who believe. Do we have any believers in here? In other words, that power. So there's no power shortage, he said, and that power is in the gospel. So listen close.
Speaker 1:The same power that's in the events is in the message. Or the devil is just as afraid of the message as he is the events. So when you know what the gospel is and you talk about it, you're remember the road to Emmaus after Jesus you know had died, and they're talking and they're like these are the events you know. And and then who joined him on the road to mess? Jesus, camouflaged, apparently, join them. They didn't recognize him and he began to explain to them the scriptures of what happened on the cross, in the death, in the resurrection of Christ. While he was explaining it to them, it says their hearts were on fire. Well, I feel like slapping somebody again. Are y'all still here? When you get revelation of what happened in the word and the blood covenant and the death and resurrection of Christ, it'll come on. You get lit. If you ain't lit, you just never got a proper explanation from the scriptures that something happened on the cross and in his resurrection.
Speaker 1:Romans 425. Y'all know Romans 425. It says he was delivered for our offenses and raised for our justification. What does that mean? He went to the cross because of our sin and was raised from the dead for our justification. All right, that's good, y'all still with me. He went to the cross because of our sin. That was our condition. Died, our death, took our curse, was raised for our justification. Let's set way.
Speaker 1:Jesus was not raised from the dead until you were justified. All right, set this way. Jesus was not raised from the dead till the claims of sin were totally paid. Once they were paid in full, you were declared not guilty or you were declared Justified, or you were made righteous. So Jesus was not raised from the dead until you were declared justified or you were made righteous. So Jesus was not raised from the dead until you were declared righteous. So what do you have to believe to be saved? Believe in your heart. God raised him from the dead. So when you do that, what are you saying? Jesus is Lord and I am NOT guilty and I have been made righteous by his blood.
Speaker 1:All right, jump to Hebrews 9, 12. Real quickly. Praise the Lord, amen. What time is it? Y'all get any time now. We're gonna be back tonight at 6, right? Well, I know some of you ain't coming back. That's why I'm preaching longer. I got you right now, come on, so I ain't coming. That's why I'm going a little bit longer. Even 912, everybody say what happened. All right now, listen, look, once you know what happened from the cross to the throne, you can never again live like that did not happen. Once you know what happened from the cross to the throne, you can never again live like that did not happen. What you know what happened tonight, no, no, that's a lot devil. I know what happened on the cross. So here with the blood of Christ, need about the blood goes in class, but with his own blood he did what. He entered in once into the holy place and he obtained what? Eternal redemption. For who? Let's try that one more time. He did what With his own blood. He entered in once into the holy place and he obtained eternal redemption for, in our behalf, us substitution blood covenant. Praise the Lord.
Speaker 1:So that's why I grew up in church, so that's why I didn't fully understand what was happening here. But my mom and my dad went to West Columbia, texas, to start a church, you know, and they had just a few people in their church and they were poor. You know what I mean by poor Poor. They were poor, didn't have no money Come on and very few people in the church. And my dad had a heart attack. My mother had a nervous breakdown as the pastor's wife for two years. She stayed in the back bedroom with a depression for two years. They said she couldn't really come out and take care of my older brother myself. And so mama has nervous breakdown, my we're broke and my dad has a heart attack.
Speaker 1:And then I was one and a half years old that's pretty little kid and I'm out playing with my older brother and cut my thumb off in a bicycle chain when I was not even two years old, so it's still gone. That means I can only hitchhike one way if I want to go, I just have to go there. And so if I shake hands with somebody, I could miss their hand because I don't have no thumb there to catch it and go all the way to their armpit. You know I'm just like. And so then little kids would come up to me after church, you know when I was pastor, and they'd come and they'd go and one of them would say show them your thumb, pastor, show them your thumb. And they'd say little kids, they'd go, where is your thumb? And I'd say I have it at home, it's in a jar. You want to come over? And they'd say I have it at home, it's in a jar. You want to come over? And they'd say what happened? You were fine. And I'd say, well, I was picking my nose and a booger bit it off while it's up in there. So if they're sucking their thumb, they take it out real quick. And I thought, man, I always wanted to be somebody and then I ended up with no thumb.
Speaker 1:So then one time I was praying for people who needed healing and they were receiving healing and some guy comes in and says look, the Lord's using you. People get healing. You don't even have no thumb. I said, well, you don't have to be perfect for the Lord to use you. Come on. I said you know he, you could use you and you're missing your brain, so don't let it stop.
Speaker 1:Anyway, my mom and dad went to pastor that church, stay there 50 years. But when they went to pastor that church, all the hell is breaking loose. Why they came there? For one reason, that's to preach the gospel. Come on when you got the gospel and you know what the gospel is. No devil can dominate you, but he will attack you on every side to try to keep you from doing what God's called you to do. So all hell's breaking out.
Speaker 1:But my mom and dad found out about the authority of the believer and the power of the blood of Jesus and what happened on the cross. The power of the gospel Come on, and so my mom would say I plead the blood of Jesus, I have faith in the blood of Jesus Turned her whole family around and my dad's church went from just a few people in West Columbia there's only 3,000 people in town. His church had 2,000. Listen, there are 50 years and over 50 pastors and missionaries came out of West Columbia church to Africa and all over the world doing what? Preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, that Jesus is alive and he is Lord and something happened on the cross through his blood to redeem us from hell and the devil and set us free. Hallelujah. And sometimes the reality of that let me try that one more time. I said the reality of that through the Holy Spirit.
Speaker 1:And so my mother would be what they would call an uninhibited preacher. We would call her a first responder. So while you're preaching or singing or whatever, my mama, you could hear a voice. You go when you come out of hell and a pit and depression and the devil's gonna wreck your life in your family. But Jesus brings you out of that pit and turns your life around. She ain't gonna be quiet. I ain't gonna be quiet about it. I don't care what you think about it. Come on, jesus, set me free and she go. Praise the Lord, the power of the gospel of Christ, the reality of that. My mom would go hallelujah and then she'd run around the church Not every Sunday, not a tradition but you never could tell when that's going to happen.
Speaker 1:You couldn't schedule it. You couldn't like put it in the bowl and say, yeah, pastors, my mama her name is Velma Velma's going to run around the church Sunday. No, you didn't know when she's going to do it, so you couldn't schedule it. And so when I got to be a teenager, it embarrassed me when she would do that. I'd go that's ridiculous Trying to have a dignified service, and my mama goes, well, and she'd run around the church. So they'd say bring a friend to church. And I said I ain't bringing none of my friends church, man, they already think I'm weird. You know what I'm gonna do, patrick, you got that song yet. Okay, just checking. Why don't you sit a little closer? You feel like an outcast over there. Anyway, makes me wonder if you're playing video games or something. The NFL hadn't started back up yet, so so they say, well, bring a friend. I said I'm bringing a friend.
Speaker 1:Well, one Sunday a friend of mine accidentally came to church and I did not invite him. I have no idea how he came to church, but I was sitting in church, I was 17 years old and I saw him over there and I thought what in the world is he doing here? And I started praying. I said, lord, please, can we have a dignified service? I said, please, can we have a dignified service? I said, please, no messages in tongues, don't let nobody talk in tongues and please don't let my mama run around the church. So I thought, okay, praise the Lord and that guy. So I went and sat by him. I said now, you know it's not a normal church, so if anything happens, I'll explain it to you later. Sure enough, they start praising the Lord. Praise the Lord.
Speaker 1:And then the lady behind us. Her name's Sister Evans. She was 80-something years old and she had false teeth. So, sister Evans, she starts talking in tongues. She always gave a messy tongue, yell about what, what, what, what, and her teeth are like like clacking together. My friend said is Latin? I said. I said no, we ain't Catholic. I said you know that's in the book of Acts. And people talking in tongues he goes huh. So, sister Evans, her teeth are kicking back together. So if you didn't have the gift of interpretation, if you knew Morse code, you could figure out what she was saying. So she go her tit-clack-clack-clack-clack. Okay, then, after she gave messing tongues and somebody gave the interpretation, let's say the Lord, I am on your side and I bring victory to you.
Speaker 1:And my mother went and she came out of the room, ran around the church, hallelujah, and my friends said who's that woman? I said I have no idea. My mother would run around the church. If that was the end of it it wouldn't be so bad. But apparently other people got lit at the same time. So when my mama would run, other people would take off running. Lord, have mercy. The richest woman in town had diamonds and everything fancy car. She got filled with the Holy Spirit and she would get so full of joy. She had diamonds, you know, and she would stagger around the church talking in tongues chicka, chicka, chicka, chicka, talking in tongues and laugh and fall out on the floor Mom, in the running, people stomping.
Speaker 1:The apostle Peter said we preach the gospel with the Holy Ghost. In other words, the gospel is not just something that you intellectually learn about. It is a power that will change your body, change your mind, change your life. Change your body, change your mind, change your life, change your family, change your children, change your grandchildren. Come on. So you got to know. Something happened on the cross in the death of Christ, through the blood of Christ. So my mama would say I plead the blood of Jesus. What does that mean? I have a blood covenant with God. I have faith in that blood. Set me free mentally, turn my dad's church off all the way around.
Speaker 1:Had a guy come in West Columbia, texas, little town you know. Come in a cowboy boots, in a snap shirt, gave my dad $1.2 million. You see, god can bless you in the country. Come on, not just in the city, god can bless you in the country. He come in there and gave him $1.2 million. Came back next year, gave him another million. Come on, this is like in 1980. Are you ready? Come on, we is like in 1980. Are you ready? Come on. We're talking about Christ, has redeemed us from the curse of the law, redeemed us from the hand of the enemy, purchased our freedom from ever controlling power of the devil. He destroyed sin and death and hell and raised from the dead spoiled principalities and powers and made a show of them openly. Come on, and nobody ever cared for you like Jesus. When he died on the cross. His blood was shed to redeem your life and to lift it off of you. Every grief, every sorrow, every shame, jesus, everything the enemy tried to strip off of you. And Jesus brought the glory back.