ESC Shabbat Service: 5 Pillars: Covenant Relationships - Gabriel Knowlton

Devotional

Day 1: The Foundation of Covenant is Trust

Trust is the essential bedrock upon which all meaningful relationships are built. It is the very substance of faith that allows us to connect with God and with one another in a deep and lasting way. Without trust, relationships remain superficial and transactional, unable to bear the weight of true covenant love. This foundational trust begins with our relationship with God, who has proven Himself entirely faithful and reliable. From that secure foundation, we can learn to extend trust to others. [01:33:12]

“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6, ESV)

Reflection: In what specific relationship—with God or with another person—do you find it most difficult to extend trust right now? What is one practical step you can take this week to actively choose trust over suspicion or fear in that area?

Day 2: God’s Covenantal Nature Reveals His Heart

The covenants God made throughout history are not merely contracts; they are profound revelations of His character as a faithful husband to His people. In them, He makes eternal vows to guard our purity, protect us from harm, and remain utterly faithful. These promises are unilateral and rooted solely in His loving nature, not in our ability to perform. Understanding this changes how we see God; He is not a distant ruler but a committed, promise-keeping relational partner. [01:36:39]

“I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” (Genesis 17:7, ESV)

Reflection: Which of God’s covenantal promises—to guard, protect, or be faithful—resonates most deeply with your current season of life? How might meditating on that specific aspect of His character impact your sense of security and peace today?

Day 3: Vertical Relationship Precedes Horizontal Relationship

The design of the cross perfectly illustrates a core kingdom principle: our connection with God must always be the source and foundation for our connections with others. The vertical beam signifies our reconciled relationship with the Father through Yeshua’s sacrifice. Only from that place of being fully loved and accepted can we then extend our arms horizontally in healthy, grace-filled relationships with those around us. We cannot give what we have not first received. [01:43:52]

“We love because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19, ESV)

Reflection: How would you describe the current state of your ‘vertical’ connection with God? In what ways might a renewed focus on receiving His love first empower you to love others more freely and selflessly?

Day 4: Stewardship, Not Possession, in Relationships

A covenant mindset shifts our approach from one of ownership to one of stewardship. We are called to be faithful managers of the relationships God entrusts to us, not controllers who demand our rights. This posture fosters freedom and life, replacing a grip of fear with open hands of gratitude. It recognizes that every person in our life is a gift from God, given to us for a season to love and serve for His purposes, not our own. [01:50:56]

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” (1 Peter 4:10, ESV)

Reflection: Consider your most important relationships. Where are you most tempted to operate from a mindset of possession and control rather than grateful stewardship? What would it look like to release that grip and entrust that relationship more fully to God’s care?

Day 5: Covenant Love is Promised-Based, Not Transactional

Genuine covenant love is not a transaction based on what another person can do for you. It is a promise-based commitment to love, protect, and be loyal, mirroring the unconditional love God has shown us. This love seeks the other’s highest good and calls them upward into who God created them to be. It is not minimalistic, asking “what is required?” but is generous, asking “what more can I give?”. This is the love that marks the people of God. [01:52:18]

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-6, ESV)

Reflection: Is there a relationship in your life that has become primarily transactional, where you find yourself keeping score? How can you intentionally shift towards a promise-based commitment to love that person this week, regardless of their response?

Sermon Summary

Covenant embodies a sacred, binding relationship rooted in divine promises, oaths, sacrifices, and signs. Scripture frames covenant as God’s unchanging vow to guard purity, protect, be faithful, and ultimately to sacrifice on humanity’s behalf. Emunah—faith understood as trust, support, and firmness—serves as the indispensable foundation that makes covenant relationship possible; the Hebrew roots and the lives of the patriarchs illustrate how God builds relational reality through steadfast vows. The historical covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and their fulfillment in the new covenant ratified in Yeshua reveal a pattern: God initiates, guarantees, and secures relationship so humans can enter into lasting, meaningful union with God and one another.

Covenant life places the vertical relationship with God before horizontal relationships among people. The cross models that sequence: the vertical beam of divine initiative supports the horizontal expression of love toward others. Law exposes the human condition and points to need, but the new covenant secures relationship by divine ratification rather than human performance. Covenant calls for faith-filled surrender to what God has already enacted, not for transactional or conditional bargaining.

Covenant reframes ownership as stewardship. Possessive mindsets assume rights, control, and temporary security; stewardship recognizes that life, gifts, relationships, and ministries are entrusted and must be managed faithfully for the Owner’s purposes. Practical arenas—money, marriage, leadership, breath itself—demand a stewardship posture that opens hands, welcomes accountability, and expects an eventual accounting rather than clinging to entitlement.

Covenant is personal and corporate, intimate and communal, and only alive when rooted in union with the Spirit. National promises to Israel, the bride imagery, intercession for unity, and the call to surrender together all point to covenant as the means by which the body of Messiah functions. Covenant relationship rejects transaction and minimalism; it pursues promise-based love that is fierce, safe, and loyal. The cross stands as the symbol of that covenant: vertical love received, horizontal love expressed, and a summons to live as stewards of an eternal, blood-bought vow.

Key Takeaways

1. Covenant is a binding relational promise Covenant denotes a sacred treaty sealed by vows, signs, and sacrificial commitment. It reframes human connection as something established by divine initiative and sustained by faithfulness rather than human performance. Entering covenant requires receiving a promise already secured, then living responsively within that promise. This changes how relationships are formed, maintained, and treasured. [85:38]
2. Faith (emunah) is trust’s foundation Emunah is not abstract belief but a practical trust that supports and stabilizes relationships. The patriarchs’ stories model how faith enables participation in covenant realities that transcend merit or achievement. Faith shifts identity from autonomous owner to reliable steward, producing the inner firmness necessary for covenant life. [93:12]
3. Vertical love precedes horizontal love The cross visually and theologically places God’s covenantal initiation before human relationships. Vertical reconciliation with God authenticates and empowers horizontal unity, enabling arms-open love that forgives and unites. Attempting meaningful communal life without first receiving vertical covenant leads to fragile, transactional bonds. [100:32]
4. Stewardship replaces possessive control Stewardship sees people and resources as entrusted, not owned, and asks how to manage them for the Owner’s purposes. This posture opens hands, expects accountability, and cultivates long-term faithfulness instead of short-term control. Practically, stewardship transforms money, marriage, leadership, and life into arenas for faithful witness rather than turf protection. [105:16]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[82:28] - Covenant Relationships Introduced
[83:24] - Simplicity by Design Theme
[85:38] - Defining Covenant (Barit)
[88:03] - Covenantal God and Story
[93:12] - Faith (Emunah) as Foundation
[94:45] - Covenants of the Patriarchs
[100:32] - Cross: Vertical before Horizontal
[105:16] - Stewardship vs Possession
[116:41] - Covenant Union and Call to Surrender

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
Amos 3:3 (ESV)
“Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?”

Ephesians 4:16 (ESV)
“From whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

1 Peter 4:10 (ESV)
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”

---

Observation questions

According to Amos 3:3, what is required for two people to walk together?
What does Ephesians 4:16 say holds the body of Messiah together and causes it to grow?
How does 1 Peter 4:10 define the purpose of the gifts God gives us?
What four “I will” promises did God make in the covenants with the patriarchs? [36:39]

---

Interpretation questions

Why is agreement necessary for meaningful relationship, as Amos 3:3 implies?
How does the imagery of the cross—vertical and horizontal beams—illustrate the proper order for covenant relationships? [40:32]
In what ways does a stewardship mindset differ from a possession mindset regarding resources, relationships, and roles? [45:16]
Why did God design the Mosaic Covenant to be conditional, and how does the New Covenant solve the problem of human failure? [40:01]

---

Application questions

Where in your life are you currently relating to God or others transactionally (“What can you do for me?”) instead of covenantally (“What can I give?”)? [52:03]
How would embracing stewardship over possession change the way you view your finances, marriage, or leadership responsibilities this week? [49:06]
What practical step can you take to strengthen the “vertical beam” of your relationship with God so that your “horizontal” love for others becomes more authentic and sustainable? [43:52]
Are there relationships in your life where you’ve been holding tightly to control or rights rather than opening your hands in faithful stewardship? What would it look like to release them to God? [50:56]
How can you actively reject a minimalist, “what is required” approach to obedience and instead pursue a covenant-hearted “what pleases you” posture toward God? [53:26]
In what specific situations do you find it difficult to trust God’s promises to guard, protect, and be faithful to you? How can you remind yourself of his covenant character in those moments? [35:10]
Who in your life needs to experience fierce, loyal, promise-based love—and what is one way you can demonstrate that kind of covenant love to them this week? [57:09]

Sermon Clips

Reminder, covenant is not transactional. It's not cultural. It's not for convenience. It's not minimal. It's blood bought. It's faith fueled. It is promises kept, and the cross stands as the eternal symbol, vertical love received, horizontal love expressed, [01:56:54] (24 seconds) #BloodBoughtCovenant

We take nothing with us except our relationship with God, vertical, and our relationship with others, horizontal. So our lives investment should not be in the things or acquiring and demanding our needs and our wants, but in giving and stewarding this covenant love. [01:44:49] (23 seconds) #InvestInCovenantLove

Stewardship, I am entrusted to love and care for you faithfully. Different paradigm. In leadership, in ministry, possession. My ministry, my people, my platform, my sheep. Stewardship. I will shepherd what belongs to God. I own no sheep. I am his servant. [01:49:45] (27 seconds) #ShepherdAsSteward

We can see in the very design the source and alignment of covenant. The vertical must always precede the horizontal. In the vertical, we see Yeshua with his body on the cross that's rooted in the earth and his head pledged toward heaven as a picture of now ratifying the eternal covenant between God and man. [01:40:32] (23 seconds) #VerticalBeforeHorizontal

Notice that the cross also is not just vertical, but it's horizontal in design. The cross beam comes from the vertical main beam. His arms opened wide. This is the expression of covenant relationships with one another. This is the posture we are to have with one another. [01:43:02] (22 seconds) #ArmsWideCovenant

The foundation of what makes covenant relationship possible is faith. You have to trust. Trust is the value at the foundation of the pillar of relationship, covenant relationship. We have to learn and have to know how to trust, and it starts with our trusting God. [01:33:07] (20 seconds) #FaithIsFoundation

we decided that the conversation was getting unproductive and that we ought to pray. The moment we turned to prayer, a prophetic message came through strongly to both of our hearts. The spirit of the Lord said to us, I am not in the business of building ministries, but rather building a body. [01:30:45] (20 seconds) #BuildingABodyNotMinistry

Now, the heart, is the law bad? No. As Paul tells us in the book of Romans, not at all. How would we possibly know our need for eternal mediation and ratification of this covenant? How would we know that we were sinners and needed to be saved except that the law came good glory from heaven, the righteous requirements of God for relationship? How would we know if not for the glorious law of God? [01:41:27] (25 seconds) #LawRevealsNeedForCovenant

Ask a question about this sermon

Chatbot

How does covenant shape vertical and horizontal relationships?

What distinguishes stewardship from possession in relationships?

How does emunah undergird covenantal relationship formation?

ESC Shabbat Service: 5 Pillars: Covenant Relationships - Gabriel Knowlton

Devotional

Day 1: The Foundation of Covenant is Trust

Day 2: God’s Covenantal Nature Reveals His Heart

Day 3: Vertical Relationship Precedes Horizontal Relationship

Day 4: Stewardship, Not Possession, in Relationships

Day 5: Covenant Love is Promised-Based, Not Transactional

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

ESC Shabbat Service: 5 Pillars: Covenant Relationships - Gabriel Knowlton

Share