In this final session, Carl shares our ongoing responsibility as covenant men and women who live by faith and actively enforce Christ’s victory at the cross. Emphasizing that believers wrestle not against people but spiritual forces, Carl teaches that Jesus ‘destroyed the works of the enemy’ and that Christ shares His authority with those in covenant with Him. Christians should personalize God’s promises, stand on Scripture, and resist passivity through faith, prayer, and the Word. The New Covenant (or Testament) has a series of conditional promises which can only be activated, if we engage our faith to receive them. It’s time to get off the sidelines and claim your covenant rights!…
Here is a complete transcript of the broadcast (below)…
Friend, this is our third and final session live, concerning the covenants of God. I’ll meet you at the other side. Let’s join me now live. So what is our mandate while we are covenant men and women? It says in Psalm 110:1, “the Lord God said to my Lord Jesus, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” And so there are enemies out there. We are in process of making these enemies the footstool of Jesus Christ. And these enemies are not people, friend. They are spirits, okay? We don’t have enemies who are human, right? Because we’re not wrestling against flesh and blood. We don’t want to get into the flesh because then we’re falling victim of the enemy strategies. Now I understand in Romans 13, that there’s a time for government and there’s a time to go to war. I’m not saying there isn’t. But on a one-on-one basis, we need to understand that the irritations around us start in the spirit realm first. And if we retaliate in the flesh, then we are falling victim to the machinations of the enemy. We don’t want to do that, amen? I love this verse, 1st John 3 8. It basically says Jesus came to destroy the works of the enemy. That’s a powerful verse.
Not only did he do it on the cross, but for those who are in Christ who enforce his authority on the earth, we are also destroying the works of the enemy. Whether that be cancer, whether it be whatever comes against us, we by faith have an opportunity to resist the enemy and to destroy his works, which is to steal, kill, and destroy. That’s what he does, right? John 10 10. He’s pretty predictable. And his temptations are predictable because they work on humanity. He’s been doing it for arguably 6,000 years. And again, Revelation 11:15, “The seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord.” And that is at the point towards the end of the tribulation where it’s time to wrap up this earth. And we’re going to move into a new phase where Jesus is going to rule and reign in Jerusalem, amen? The thousand-year millennial reign of Christ. That’s what we look forward to. You know, heaven’s not just sitting on a cloud playing harps, all right? That’s what a lot of people have believed. But if you read Ezekiel in particular, and Zechariah, you’ll actually learn what we’re going to be doing in the next phase of humanity. It’s exciting.
But until then, until that time, we’re going to live by faith. We’re going to walk by faith and not by sight. We have to believe in a God we can’t see. His witness is born in our own heart. The Holy Spirit bears witness that we are the children of God, amen? Explain to me why you just got saved and spirit-filled and now you don’t drink anymore, you don’t do this, you don’t do that. That’s kind of weird, isn’t it? Yeah, it is weird. From the outside, if you’re looking as a spectator to someone’s life who’s just known Christ, it’s a very odd thing because they’ve changed literally on the inside and they’re different people. Only God can do that, friend. How many have seen that in your own lives? How many have seen that in your friends’ lives? It’s awesome. But it can also create agitation in the people as well because they’re like, well, you’re one of those holy rollers, dude. I mean, there’s no fun in that. It’s just obeying all the rules and stuff. I mean, how boring is that, right? Listen, the joy inside of our heart is what bears witness to us, all right? We don’t need the world. We’re in the world, but we’re not of it. We don’t need to partake of it because it’s not going to bring fulfillment. Man, some of us have done a fair old stuff in the world and we’re like, look, we don’t need to be doing that again. It’s only hurting us, amen? Here’s what it means, friend.
You’ve cut covenant with Jesus Christ. Make it personal. Cheryl, Tara, Christy, Adam, whoever it is, John, you have cut covenant with Jesus Christ. April, whoever it is, you have cut covenant with Jesus. You have cut covenant. Do you understand that? You, Tara, have. In other words, now that I’ve cut covenant with Jesus, I’m going to personalize these promises, which means if your funds are running low, you can delve into Jesus’s wallet, that big, fat, juicy wallet, amen? Oh, he’s huge, man. Look how big that wallet is. I’m going to grab some of that stuff and say, Lord, I have a need right now and I need that big, fat, juicy wallet, amen? And I’m going to go on in there and take what is mine because what is his is yours and what is yours is his. You know, some people came to Jesus and all they had is debt. Some people get married and it’s like, well, I need to tell you about the $285,000 I owe the IRS. Well, praise God. I’m glad we discussed it on our honeymoon. And so there is an exchange, amen? There’s an exchange. And so we’re not bringing, when Jesus saves you, he’s like, yep, we know all about the debt. We know all about that bad stuff. I still want you anyway, right? Because we are debtors to him. See? We’re making it personal. If the devil picks on you and starts a spiritual fistfight, he made a mistake. Why? Because he picked on Jesus himself. Now that’s good, friend. Does the enemy have a chance of getting over on Jesus?
No, he does not, all right? And that’s how you stand your ground. You say, listen, punk, this is who you picked on. Touch not the Lord’s anointed and do the prophets no harm, amen? That’s another scripture that comes up. The anointed of God are precious in God’s sight. God will put up with it for a while, rather, but there comes a time when that person better stop doing what they’re doing, all right? There’s a lot of stories along those lines. I’m not going to get into them now, but there are. So you are a covenant man and you’re a covenant woman, amen? Covenant men and women of God who know their terms and rights and are going to press into that covenant and say, listen, this is what I’m standing on. And it’s the New Testament, it’s Ephesians, it’s Philippians, it’s Colossians. I’ve been translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his dear son, right? Greater is he that is in me, etc., etc. We have to personalize those promises so that we can stand in the day of testing, amen? If the devil tries to put sickness on you, then he tried to put sickness on Jesus. Unsuccessful. Hallelujah. You’re a covenant man. Jesus is the head, you are the body. If you’re depressed and lack hope that God is going to come through for you, just imagine Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father going, oh my Lord, have you seen this body of Christ? We are in trouble, God. Woo! Is that how Jesus is thinking? No, that’s not how he’s thinking.
He is thinking, I see them by faith, Father, doing the things that I commanded them and they are standing on my promises. Jesus is 100% encouragement all the time, 24-7. That is what we’re going to tap into. He has got our backs, friend, alright? If you don’t feel like he has in the past, it’s time again to embrace him and say, Lord, forget about the past, I’m going to trust you one more time. Now is the day of salvation. So we identify ourselves as covenant men and women of God and we need to know what is in our covenant. How many people read the Word of God every day in this room? And you don’t have to put your hand up if you don’t. How many of a devotional time? How many people actually go, I’m going to read a chapter a day? Try and do that, friend. It will benefit you greatly. It’s not like a religious system where we just, you know, tick off our chapters. It’s for your own benefit. The more you have relationship with him, the more you have devotional, the more his Word will be real to you and then you can appropriate it. Amen? In the Old Testament, the conditional Mosaic covenant was focused on doing. It was all about doing the 613 Commandments. In the New Testament, the focus is on believing. And as we do so, we are righteous by what Jesus did and then we’re established, amen, in the righteousness that he gave us. And the great news is the New Testament covenant is unconditional because it’s established by faith, not works. Wow, awesome.
So our focus should be the believing, not the doing. And as we do so, we can move in what he’s promised us. I mean, I wouldn’t really cope really that well in a hundred-degree desert with some sort of sandals, half-naked for 40 years, wandering around on pebbles with no Starbucks and no protein shakes. I mean, it would be tough, dude, okay? No TV, no cable. I mean, I would be like the guy who’s whining every day. But you know, no one else is like that in the room, of course. But you know, we need to be grateful that we’re in this time, amen? We need to be grateful that we’re in this time frame that we can enjoy the many blessings. But don’t be like the man on the cruise ship who didn’t realize his meals were all-inclusive, amen? All your meals are all-inclusive. It’s time to grab them. We have an inclusive gospel in the sense that all of our promises are there. We don’t have an inclusive gospel in the sense that everybody’s saved on earth. No, we still need to pick Jesus, okay? That’s another teaching that’s come up recently. But Jesus has cut covenant with you, and his scars are there to prove it. Remember, Thomas put his finger in the very scars. He said, they’re right there, okay? I died for you, amen? There are scars in his wrists for what he did for us. And therefore, we have put on the robe of righteousness, and we have a garment of salvation, and we have weapons of warfare and the armor of God at our disposal. And we enforce these things by what we say and by what we believe, amen? Hallelujah. We are going to take communion right now. It’s a time to remember the covenant that Jesus gave us.
When he shed his blood, we symbolically eat of his flesh and remember the covenant that we’re in. But what I would challenge you is, guys, in the next few days, is to delve into the epistles and find out the very promises that he gave you so that you can take advantage of all of the meals on the ship. And that’s the question I would ask you, friend. Are you taking advantage of your full meal ticket on the ship, the ship of Christ? You know, many years ago, Brother Kenneth E. Hagin wrote a book called ‘In Him.’ It was like a little mini booklet. And he went into the epistles, and he underlined words like in him and in Christ. And it showed, it revealed the incredible promises that are in our possession, if only we knew. And I would suggest that most Christians are leaving promises on the table because they don’t have knowledge of them, okay? And if you don’t know them, then you can’t stand on them. And God wants us to put him in remembrance, to say, Lord, this is what you said in your word. I’m gonna stand on it. And, friend, that pleases God.
That’s a faith that pleases him. Remember, it says without faith it is impossible to please him. And when we remind him of his promises, I really believe he smiles from the throne. And angels are dispatched. Either we believe it all or we don’t, friend. We can’t believe some of it. We must believe all of it, right? Praise the Lord. Now, I know there are regular listeners out there. And if you are a regular listener for the past few months, I would ask you to ask the Holy Spirit if you would consider sending a love offering to us to keep us on air. Be obedient, friend, because there’s a blessing whenever you give. You cause a chain reaction in the spirit. You’re sowing a seed and you’re going to reap a harvest, but you can’t reap until you’ve sown. And it takes courage to sow. And I know you have the courage to do so. It is a wonderful privilege to be able to minister on the radio. Not something I ever planned in my life, quite honestly. But we’re very grateful, and it is my sincere desire to keep going, and I hope and pray that we can. Until tomorrow, good night, God bless, and remember to spread the good news.
https://carljosephministries.com/jesus-the-name-above-every-name/
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/the-biblical-covenants/
Title: The Covenants of God: Part 3 (LIVE)
Related keyword searches:
Covenant with Jesus Christ
Spiritual Warfare and Authority
Overcoming the Works of the Enemy
Covenant Promises in Christ
The Kingdom of God and Jesus’ Reign
Living by Faith in Christ
Spiritual Discernment and the Enemy
Personalizing God’s Promises
New Covenant vs Old Covenant Christianity
Six Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What is our mandate as covenant men and women of God?
As covenant men and women, our mandate is to enforce the authority and promises of God in the earth. This includes resisting the works of the enemy—whether that be sickness, oppression, or other attacks—and standing firm in our faith. We’re called to recognize that our enemies are spiritual, not human, and to use the authority given to us in Christ to overcome these spiritual battles. Our ultimate goal is to bring God’s Kingdom to earth and to make His enemies His footstool, as described in Psalm 110:1.
2. Why is it important to understand that our enemies are spiritual, not human?
The Bible teaches that we are not wrestling against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). This is important because if we view our struggles as conflicts with people, we fall into the trap of responding in the flesh, which plays into the enemy’s strategies. Instead, we need to recognize that our real battle is against spiritual forces—against the works of the devil. This perspective helps us respond in faith and resist the enemy’s tactics effectively, rather than getting caught up in earthly confrontations.
3. What does it mean to destroy the works of the enemy?
In 1 John 3:8, we are told that Jesus came to “destroy the works of the enemy.” As believers in Christ, we are called to do the same. This means that when we encounter sickness, oppression, fear, or any other attack of the enemy, we can resist it and stand on God’s promises to overcome. By faith, we have the authority to bind the works of darkness and bring God’s healing, peace, and provision into our lives and the lives of others. This is part of our covenant responsibility.
4. How do we personalize the promises of the New Covenant?
When we enter into covenant with Jesus, we become joint heirs with Him (Romans 8:17). This means that everything Jesus has, we have access to. For instance, when you’re in need, you can “reach into Jesus’s wallet,” so to speak, and claim the provision He has already made available. Understanding that what is His is also yours allows you to stand on His promises, whether that be for healing, provision, or peace, and to take ownership of them in your life.
5. How does the New Covenant differ from the Old Covenant?
The Old Covenant was based on works—the 613 commandments that Israel had to follow. It was conditional: blessings came from obedience, and curses came from disobedience. In contrast, the New Covenant is based on faith in Jesus Christ. It’s unconditional because it was established by His finished work on the cross. We are made righteous by faith, not by our works. Our focus, therefore, should be on believing in Christ and trusting in His finished work, rather than trying to earn God’s favor through actions.
6. Why is it important to read the Word and know the promises of God?
The Bible is full of promises that are part of our inheritance as covenant children of God. However, if we don’t know what these promises are, we can’t stand on them in faith. Personalizing God’s Word—by meditating on it daily and making it a part of our lives—empowers us to take hold of the promises He has made to us. This relationship with God through His Word is key to walking in victory and fulfilling our mandate as covenant men and women.
