Our Guest Al Houghton

Sid:My guest Al Houghton I’m speaking to him at his home in Anaheim, California.  Let me tell you a story a fellow that I went to college with he’s been a believer well over 30 years.  He has graduated Bible school, he has taught, he has been involved in many levels of ministry and he got a hold of this teaching the covenant of sure mercies and he said, “Sid you’ve got to listen to these tapes.” And this is what he told me he said, “I’m going to devote the rest of my life to teaching people how to understand this covenant.”  So I got a hold of the tapes and I spoke to Al Houghton and I said, “I’m really interested in…” and Al told me that he was finishing up a book and now the book is out, it’s called “The Sure Mercies of David.”  Al, tell me briefly for those that perhaps are tuning in for the first time the premise of this covenant, how it operates and some examples of how it operates.

Al:  Sid the covenant of sure mercy is what God gave David four chapters before he met Bathsheba.The covenant of sure mercy allows out life’s work to be established and contribute to God’s Kingdom even if there is a moral failure.  Now Isaiah took the covenant that God gave David in 2^nd Samuel Chapter 7 and verse 15, and Isaiah extended it out to nations.  And actually what Isaiah tells us in chapter 55 is that if we learn to function in the covenant of sure mercy that nations will run to us it is a key to the end time harvest, that’s one of the edge of the sword.  The second edge of the sword is the justice of God I believe that is the key to the Jewish harvest to making Israel jealous and grafting them back in.They’ve been looking for a Messiah who’s a judge of all the earth for thousands of years and the church has to demonstrate the Messiah. The essence of this covenant is “I will take your greatest failure and I will redeem it, I will restore you in the process and I will make your failure praise me and produce fruit for my Kingdom.”  David’s an example, his sin and failure with Bathsheba; after he repents out of that union comes Solomon, the wisest man on earth and one who builds the temple.  Now that’s what I call the qualifications side of the covenant of sure mercy.  We need to understand in the church that how we treat people in failure is an opportunity that God is giving us and if we don’t treat them based on the principals of the covenant of sure mercy we often forfeit major future blessing.

Sid:Now you’re saying if we choose not to forgive who God has forgiven it’s a law of sowing and reaping it’s going to come back on us.

Al:  It’s is going to come back on us and it’s so typical to push away people in failure.You know Moses…three of the greatest leaders of scripture Moses, David and Paul all had what you would have to call tremendous failure and every single one of them God redeemed and then used for their purpose in the earth.  Moses at age 40 we find him in Acts Chapter 7 he kills a man in his own strength.  He tries to judge a couple of Israelites they push them away, that’s Acts 7:27. I wonder how they would have treated Moses if they would have known, if they could see with God’s redemptive covenant of sure mercy and know that God was going to use Moses to deliver them.  And that is often what happens to us; there were people who treated David terribly and David was restored to his throne because God had forgiven him.  The man’s name was Shimei, it cost him his life; it’s amazing how this covenant works it’s an opportunity.  When we find people in failure we need to understand that’s an Isaiah 55 opportunity to qualify for anointing that will impact cities and nations.We need to go for it.

Sid:Not only cities and nations and that would have been enough your own family, your own life can be dramatically affected by this part of the gospel that has been eliminated that the first church understood.  Give me some examples of testimonies of people that have got hold of this teaching and the changes that have occurred in their life.

Al:  You know Sid I tend to focus on the nation because that’s where my heart is, but the funny thing for me about teaching this is that almost all the testimonies that are coming in are not about the nation they are all about people in their own circumstances.  Within 30 days after I taught this at a church in Hawaii who was in a building program.They encountered somebody in the planning commission area who was absolutely against them.  So they would go in for their permits for water, permits for electricity it would all be delayed, all be delayed.  And they were ridiculous excuses there was no reason for it, it was costing them time and money.  It was obvious there was somebody in that building code department that was anti-Christ did not want them to build what they were building.  And I’m sure anybody who’s ever built anything understands the hassle that you go through in the process of getting your permits and your approvals.  And finally the pastor had had enough, he was just full, he was just full he said, “That’s it congregation.”  And so on Monday night prayer meeting they all gathered together, they said “We’re going to agree; tonight we’re invoking the covenant of sure mercy. Father you told us to build this church, now in Jesus Name we invoke your covenant of sure mercy over this project and have mercy on us cut off this opposition.  We put this individual in your hands, we decree divine justice and we are calling forth the justice of God, bring it forth in the name of Jesus.  We want it, we decree it and we are calling it and we have nothing else than the divine justice of the living God.”  They prayed it, they stood on it and they brought it forth and Sid within 7 days every permit that they were asking for was docked approved.  And what happened was even more amazing because this man went on vacation and then while he was on vacation somebody else got this and approved it.So when they brought it back in he was livid he was enraged that it was approved while he was gone on vacation but there was nothing he could do.  It was a done deal; now there’s a perfect example of what I’m hearing from people in how they’re using the covenant of sure mercy in their circumstances where they are suffering injustice.  Because it’s a covenant that demands the justice of God come into manifestation.  And we’re seeing it, and that the exciting part of what’s going on here so it’s awesome to see people catch God’s word and then begin to use it in such a way.

Sid:Well, my friends reaction who sat under your seminar he literally he feels he’s got to teach this wherever he goes.Is he unusual or do many people feel that that sits through your seminar?

Al:  I just talked many people are having that response because it’s a restoration and here’s what a retired army officer said to me who’s been teaching God’s word, he’s instrumental in his church, he’s a teacher.  He said, “Alf for the majority of my Christian life I feel like every single thing that I’ve learned to do in prayer is all defensive, this is the first message that has put a sword in my hand that I can swing.”  And he said, “It is unbelievable, it’s making a difference.”He has had struggle, struggle after struggle with his homeowner association, they didn’t want to let him pain his house the color he wanted, they didn’t want to let him put this thing out in front.  And I mean one after another, after another he said, “I invoke this covenant, I begin to pray and he said, “The opposition just sort of bled off, it was slow but I watched God bleed it off.”  And that’s the typical response that I’m getting from people; they are using it for what they’re facing in their own life and they’re finding God is coming on the scene as the judge of all the earth in their behalf.

Sid:But what you said to me that is covenant is going to be used to provoke Jewish people to jealousy.As you also explained in the Prophet Amos the greatest revival the world has ever seen is based on Christians understanding this covenant.

Tags: It’s Supernatural, Sid Roth