You know when a child does something he was proud of... Daddy look! Daddy look! If he'd have done something bad - you couldn't find him! We're all like that. When we think we do something right - when we keep our prayer life right - we do that. Something inside of us thinks Gods impressed; so we're like daddy look! Daddy look!
It's almost like God's like: don't you understand - I'm not impressed with that. I'm impressed with Jesus. You don't have to create your own righteousness - I'm simply giving you Mine. You don't have to create your own holiness - I'm giving you Mine. You don't have to create your own anointing - I'm giving you Mine. You don't have to live out of your own coat anymore - you can live out of My coat.
If you witness the coat exchange, then say “I do”. This happened all the time in Hebrew culture; and this was the imagery that God was using.
Next we would trade belts! In New Zealand culture, the belt is a fashion statement - and it's also meant to hold up the pants - and it's supposed to match your shoes!
In Hebrew culture - it was all of my weapons! So I just put all of my weapons at his disposal - in front of you all; and he just put all of his weapons at his disposal on me - in front of everybody. We're saying: anybody who comes against him now, is not just coming against him - it's coming against me and him -- even if I deserve it!
So if I kill one of her family - and she riles all those people up, and says: let's go get him - then he's still binded by covenant to stand with me see.
That's why Jesus said: “no weapon formed against you can prosper”. Any time the devil comes against you - any time anybody comes against you - it's not just you; it's you and him. It's all you've got; and all he has
If you witnessed the belt exchange, say “I do”.
Next we would stand before you, and we would quote all the blessings and curses from Deuteronomy 28! We would declare that if we break our covenant – “let all the curses come on us”; and if we keep our covenant – “let all the blessings come on us”
So if you come against -and he doesn't show up to help - our covenant is now ‘null and void’ - and he's heaped curses on his life.
A covenant wasn't a carte blanche thing, where you could act any way you wanted to act. A covenant had stipulations - and he had to live by the belt; he had to live by the coat!
If you witnessed the ‘blessings and curses’ thing say: I do.
Next we would kill an animal. I always forget the ‘killing the animal’ part, because it's strange to us - but to them it was like talking on a cell phone - it was that common.
We would take an animal, place it between us - and we'd cut it right down the middle; from the base of its skull, all the way down the middle. One half of the animal will fall on my side, and one half of the animal will fall on his side. In the middle would be a big pool of Blood.
Next we would walk in a ‘figure-of-eight’ around the blood. Eight is the number of new beginnings. It says: anything in my life, or his life, before now - is now gone. It's a brand new life, me and him.
“If any man be in Christ he's a new creature; all the old is gone, all the new is come” It's like Jesus has walked in a figure-eight around His own blood with you - and He's made everything new, everything new.
Next, I would take a knife - and cut his hand right down the middle; and he would take a knife - cut my hand right down the middle; then we would hold hands over the covenant animal - lock elbows; and our blood would mix and mingle with the blood of the animal.