Worship 4 of 8
God’s Covenant With You
…he [God] will ever be mindful of his covenant. Psalm 111:5
One morning when I was in Los Angeles, California, the Spirit of God moved upon me and 
began to reveal to me about the covenant He has made with His people.
He said, “I have made a covenant with the human race, son. They didn’t make it with Me. I made it with them. I’m their God, and they’re My children. [Lev. 26:12.] If they will enter into the covenant I’ve made and be My children, I’ll do great and mighty things for them. I will be their God, and they can have anything they want that’s in the Bible. But they must worship Me.”
Then He said, “I’ll prove Myself to you today in the service you are about to go into. Speak on the power there is in praise and the power there is in worship. You just call on Me, and I’ll prove it to you. My Word will stand the test. My Word will stand the fire and so will I.”
God’s got a gospel that will produce victory, and you’ll get the victory through Christ Jesus. Do you understand that? You’ll get the victory through prayer and through faith in Him.
You say, “I believe, Brother Norvel. I believe.” Yes, you may believe, but the question God is asking the human race is, “Do you believe Me enough to worship Me?”
He went on, “I will prove Myself in this next service by My power through barren women. I want to use them as an example in the service. I could use anyone or anything for an example, but because I want them all to have the victory I will use them. I want them to realize that I promised victory to every human being on earth that will give Me time in praise and give Me time in worship. Any human being, any denomination or any church that will not break the covenant I have made with them can have anything they want.”People everywhere are trying to do this and trying to do that, but they don’t spend any time worshipping and praising God. They have a lot of problems and want a bunch of things from God, but they need to enter a different realm of dedication towards God than what they’ve known. Thank God for all that they already know, but God is saying they need to enter a different realm of dedication, a realm of praise and worship unto God daily.
After God said those things to me about what He wanted to do in that meeting, I did as He said. I asked for all the barren women to come down front, and they did. They began to come and worship God all around the altar in that big church. As we worshipped Him, the Spirit of God came down upon us in a mighty way, and the glory of God filled that sanctuary. God will give barren women a new womb if they need one.
A Prophecy on His Covenant
But even before that part of the service, there was a time of real worship and praise. That’s when a spirit of prophecy came forth, and the word of the Lord was spoken. You know, when that happens, the Holy Spirit can read your sermon to a congregation. He can tell them your sermon before you’ve even said a word!
The man who was used by God to share that word of prophecy didn’t know anything about what I was going to speak on. I hadn’t said anything yet. I hadn’t called the barren women down front. I hadn’t told them anything about the covenant that God had said He made with the human race. But that was spoken out in prophecy.
I want to share this word from the Lord that the man spoke in that meeting with you. Pay close attention to what He says about His covenant with us.”As Adam walked with Me in the Garden,” says the Spirit of the living God, “so I would have a people who would call out unto Me and cry unto Me and worship Me,” saith the Spirit of Grace.
“And as you create the atmosphere of praise and the clouds of glory begin to descend, the Lord thy God shall ride upon the clouds in His majesty and come to visit His people once again.”
And the Lord says, “Do not seek for revival and do not look for a breakthrough, but look for the King of Kings and look for Me, saith the Spirit, for I Myself shall visit you,” saith the Lord.
“I will not send a revival, but I Myself will come, for I am looking and searching throughout the earth,” saith the Lord.
“I am looking for a people who will worship. Me in spirit and in truth, who will dedicate and consecrate themselves to Me,” saith the Lord.
“I am waiting for a generation of people who will come before Me with clean hands and a pure heart, who will worship and serve Me only and bow down to no other god,” saith the Lord.
“I am waiting for a people who will cry unto Me and draw nigh unto Me, for I am longing to manifest My glory,” saith the Lord, “and let the lightning bolts of My thunder come forth,” saith the Spirit.
“Oh, My people, if you would make a covenant of praise with Me and make a covenant of worship with Me,” saith the Lord, “even if any shall come up with Me,” saith the Spirit, “you shall transcend the law of sin and death,” saith the Lord.
“You shall rise up in My power and glory, and I shall have a people who shall walk in dynamic power, who shall walk with authority,” saith the Lord, “for the earth is Mine and the fullness thereof, and it doesn’t belong to the Devil. He doesn’t own anything,” saith the Lord.
“So rise up, My people, and enter into a covenant with Me and worship Me,” saith the Lord, “and praise Me,” saith the Spirit, “for I have an atmosphere created upon this earth that will drive the demons away,” saith the Lord, “that My glory might be revealed.
“Oh, My people, feel My presence, experience My majesty. For it’s a taste of what is to come where I shall pour out My glory in the days ahead, and the finest hour shall come,” saith the Lord.
“Therefore, know, and know this surely,” saith the Spirit, “you are the people I have chosen, and I have ordained this place to worship Me and to praise Me with My creative power,” saith the Spirit of God.
Make a Covenant With God
Now read closely. God made a covenant with the human race. You are human, aren’t you?
Then He’s made a covenant with you!
But you must choose to worship Him and give Him praise. After hearing a word like that from the Spirit of God, you really need to praise Him and worship Him!
Give the Lord Jesus Christ praise from your lips and from your heart and from your mind. Get words of worship and praise into your thinking, then raise your hands before God, and say this to Him:
“I praise You, Jesus. I love You, Lord. You are my Lord and my God. Blessed be the name of the Lord God forever! I worship You and I praise You, O Lord God. I praise Thy wonderful name. Thank You, Lord. You are the true and living God.
“Oh, God, I make a covenant with You that I will praise the name of Jesus, and I shall worship You all the days that I live.
“Thank You, Lord, for making me strong and not weak. Blessed be the Lord God forever! Oh, I worship You, Jesus, and I praise Your holy name. Thank You, Lord. I worship You and praise You, in Jesus’ name.”
Make this time of worship a part of you, just like your right arm is a part of you and your left arm is a part of you. Set aside a time of worship and praise unto God. Praise Him for a while, then worship Him. Praise Him and worship Him.
Stay in God’s Will
You know, if you don’t ever worship God and praise Him, you are, very simply, out of God’s will.
“What do you mean, Brother Norvel, when you say we are ‘out of God’s will’?” You may say, “I go to church and love the Lord. I am not out of God’s will.”You may not think so, but you are living beneath your means. You are living afar off—far off from where you could be living.
“Now that isn’t true, Brother Norvel,” you may say. “I’m not living afar off. I love the Lord. I pray during church. I get blessed in the song service. And I even weep.”
But if you only worship during a church service and only get blessed when you sing those songs in church, you are not really worshipping Him the way He wants you to. And you will never be able to enjoy God’s best.
You see, if you’ve not been spending time worshipping God yourself, you’ve been living your life in the permissive will of God. But all you have to have, my friend, is dedication to come back to Him.
This is your own choice. You have to make the decision to return to God and begin to worship Him.
Then you have a right to pray and ask God for things. If you are trying to pray and ask God for a lot of things without ever worshipping Him, you will usually get a few things just because He loves you so much.
But always remember this: many things you will never get unless you yourself make a covenant with God. Many of the blessings of God that He has for a human being—or the human race, or the Church—will never come to you unless you make that covenant of worship and covenant of praise with Him.
Many of those blessings, you will never get. Never!
“Well, I pray, Brother Norvel,” somebody may say. “But it seems like God doesn’t hear me. I try to live my life clean, Brother Norvel. I love the Lord, and I give my money to the
Gospel. I don’t know why God wouldn’t hear me when I pray.”
Well, all that sounds good, but it sounds religious, and that’s about what it is. I’m not talking about being religious. I’m talking about having a relationship with God.
You might say: “Brother Norvel, I need help. I can’t pay my bills. My body has sickness in it. I’m in terrible shape! I need Jesus to help me.”
We are the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Jesus is Head of the Church. If you will just tell God how much you need His Son to help you, He will. All you have to do is be willing to give yourself over completely to God.
Choose To Worship Him
Look at some other Scripture verses about worship and praise.
O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. Psalm 95:6
Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy. Psalm 99:9
Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. Psalm 150:6
God’s people shall praise and glorify His name forever and ever—for as long as we have breath, as long as we shall live. That is forever and ever!
Praise and glorify God. All the bad things that the Devil has put upon you will disappear, and all your children who are lost
will come into the Kingdom of God. All of them. None of your children have any business going to hell, so you just begin to stand in the gap for them yourself. Stand in the gap for them like Ezekiel 22:30 talks about: I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me
Yes, you may be in trouble. Praise and worship God.
You may be broke. I’ve been broke before, so I know what it is like. Praise and worship God.
You may be sick. I know what that is like, too. When I was a child, I had to stay out of school for one year. I had pleurisy, and they thought I was going to die. I couldn’t even breathe the air outside for that whole year. My mother would heat irons and hot water bottles, then put them at my feet, because the doctor said,
“If he catches cold, he will die.” But I’ll have you know I’m alive today!
My Vision of Life Since Birth
While I was in Florida one time, God gave me a vision of the day I was born. The people I was with and I had been in intercession, and as we were praying, the Spirit of God came all over me, and I fell over on the couch all of a sudden. That is when God began to give me a vision on the wall. It was like a movie screen in front of me.
He let me see myself from the time I was a baby. He showed me everything that had ever happened to me.
Then He said: “This has happened to you because the Devil has been trying to destroy you since the day you were born. But I anointed you, son, before you ever came out of your mother’s womb. She gave you to me, and I had a work for you to do for Me.”
That vision made me appreciate what it meant to be loved by God. Every day I thank Him and praise Him and worship Him so much for all that He means to me.
Parents, do like my mother did for me and give your children over to Jesus. Promise God that you will dedicate your children to Him like my mother dedicated me. I promise you, God can meet you there and make a difference in the lives of your kids. If necessary, He will perform a miracle for you—a miracle! It makes no difference what kind of miracle. He can do it if you need one.
Give Yourself Over to Him
Jesus is the miracle worker. He wants you to have God’s best. Just remember to worship Him. Why? Because He is worthy of praise and worship.
Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. Psalm 97:12
Oh, worship God in His holiness, not in doctrines. Just worship God in His holiness.
Start worshipping the Lord and praising Him, giving yourself over to Him. Start telling Jesus how much you love Him.
Say: “Lord, I give myself totally over to You. My life belongs to You, Jesus. My body belongs to You, Jesus. And, Lord, I give my children over to You.”
If you are married, but haven’t been able to bear children, give that over to Him now. Just start telling Jesus how you feel. Say, “Lord, in Your time I want to bear children.” I promise you that God will not leave you barren. You don’t have to be barren. Put your eyes on Him as your Provider, and give your future children over to Him. There is no use in waiting until you are expecting a baby. Give that little one over to Him now before you ever conceive it.
Say: “Lord, any offspring of mine are yours, Jesus, for the Gospel’s sake. So, Lord, before I start to carry a baby, I give it to You now.”
The Lord God performs miracles like that all the time. It is no problem for Him to do that.
“Well, Brother Norvel, the doctor says there is something wrong with my womb,” someone may say.
That doesn’t make any difference. The Holy Ghost can give you a new womb if you need one. He can straighten out all your inward parts.
Just keep worshipping the Lord and praising Him; keep talking to Him. The Spirit of God will come upon you and minister to you. The Holy Spirit is precious.
Don’t be ashamed. Tell God what you need from Him. Tell Him now, and just throw that need over on Him. Don’t you carry it around. You take that need to Him, and let Him have it. You take the undefeated things about your life to Him, and lay them on the altar. Leave them at His feet.
Say this to Him:
“Thank You, Jesus, for loving me. I don’t want all these problems, Lord. They are about to drive me nuts, so I give them over to You. I don’t want them, and I’m not going to have them, so I just give them to You, Jesus.
“Lord, You take my body and make it new. Take my mind and make it strong. I give my children over to You. I give my job and my business over to You. I am just going to praise You and worship You for as long as I live, in Jesus’ name.”
Receive the Abundant Life God Has for You
God said He was looking for a people who would establish with Him a covenant of praise and a covenant of worship. He is looking for a people, a Church, a human race who would establish and make a covenant with Him. He has already made one and set it before you. And He isn’t going to break His
covenant. I can tell you that now. We are the ones who have broken the covenant, not God.
If you will make a covenant with God and begin to Praise
Him and worship Him, you will come on into the abundant life that will set you free. “Will God do it for me?” you may say.
God wants to bless you. He wants to meet all your needs and give you the desires of your heart. Anything that God does for me, He wants to do for you. Anything God does for anybody else, He wants to do for you, too. Understand that!
God will do it for you, but remember: without the covenant of praising His name and worshipping Him, without the covenant going from you to Him, you are breaking the covenant.
God wants to bless you abundantly, and Jesus paid the price for you to have those blessings. If you have accepted Jesus, but are not keeping the covenant of worship and praise, you won’t be receiving the abundant life God wants for you. Oh, you will receive blessings in church, and you will receive some things from God, but there will be many, many things that your life will be lacking. They just will not come your way unless you make that covenant of praise and covenant of worship with Him.
God is looking for people who will make that covenant with Him. God has already made His part of the covenant. He is looking for a people who will take part in it. So enter into the covenant of worship and praise. Open your spirit to God. Set your heart and mind on Him. Give Him all the worship and
praise your heart can muster. He is ready to receive it this very moment. Then when you pray, the answers will come. And He’ll do great and mighty things for you!
See Worship 5 of 8 – When the Flesh Rises Up, Worship God
Norvel Hayes