"Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (1 Samuel 17:26)
You may be facing a giant today. He may be a giant of sickness or failure, of financial shortage or another kind of trouble. But don't let him scare you. You have a secret weapon. A weapon that once turned a shepherd boy into a bear-busting, lion-killing, giant-slaying champion. That weapon was a blood covenant with Almighty God.
Back in David's day, circumcision was the sign of that covenant. So, when he called Goliath uncircumcised, David was saying: This guy may be a giant; he may be strong; but he has no covenant with God and that's why I can kill him.
Like David, you, too, have a covenant. But yours is better. The covenant David had offered a wealth of blessings to those who kept it, but it also included curses for those who broke it.
Yours doesn't. Yours is a New Covenant that Jesus bought with His own blood. It doesn't depend on your ability. It depends on Him and what He has already done. He has done it all! All you have to do is believe it and receive it.
Showing posts with label Curses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Curses. Show all posts
Monday, 22 April 2013
Friday, 29 March 2013
Mordecai : The Man Who Was a Virtuous Patriot
- A Jew who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:2; Neh. 7:7).
- A Benjamite, son or descendant of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish. He brought up Esther, his uncle’s daughter, and adopted her as his own daughter after the death of her parents (Esther 2:5, 7).
The Man Who Was a Virtuous Patriot
What joy must have filled the heart of this foster-father of Esther, when he saw her elevated to the position of queen, and himself exalted to high office in the court. Exile and poverty were now past. Mordecai sat in the king’s gate, and was aware of the plot on the king’s life by two chamberlains. Mordecai reported the plot to the king, thus saving his life. According to Persian customs, a record of this act was carefully preserved in the royal archives (Esther 2:21-23; 6:1-3), and during a sleepless night of the king, was read. It resulted in Mordecai’s consequent reward.
Friday, 7 September 2012
FORGIVENESS CAN BRING HEALING AND RESTORATION
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Matthew 5:43-45
The literal meaning of the word “forgiveness” in the New Testament is “to release; to hurl away; to free yourself.” The only way to break the chain or cycle of hurtfulness is to stop and ask forgiveness. This allows a relationship to start over and begin anew. The Russian writer, Solzhenitsyn, believed forgiveness is what truly makes us different from animals. Only humans can perform the most unnatural act of forgiveness that transcends the relentless law of nature.
A young Iranian lady, we’ll call Fatima, was full of hatred towards her mother-in-law. For fifteen years her mother-in law was her enemy and there was a great deal of enmity in the family.
Several times Fatima had even tried to kill her mother-in-law. Once she put poison in her soup hoping to kill her. The mother-in-law felt very sick after that and was taken to the hospital. The doctors took the poison out of her stomach and were able to save her life.
The literal meaning of the word “forgiveness” in the New Testament is “to release; to hurl away; to free yourself.” The only way to break the chain or cycle of hurtfulness is to stop and ask forgiveness. This allows a relationship to start over and begin anew. The Russian writer, Solzhenitsyn, believed forgiveness is what truly makes us different from animals. Only humans can perform the most unnatural act of forgiveness that transcends the relentless law of nature.
A young Iranian lady, we’ll call Fatima, was full of hatred towards her mother-in-law. For fifteen years her mother-in law was her enemy and there was a great deal of enmity in the family.
Several times Fatima had even tried to kill her mother-in-law. Once she put poison in her soup hoping to kill her. The mother-in-law felt very sick after that and was taken to the hospital. The doctors took the poison out of her stomach and were able to save her life.
Thursday, 6 September 2012
Strike It Rich
"And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:29)
One of the problems that hung around me for years was poverty. But I remember the day I decided I wasn't going to be poor anymore. I was reading in the Word where it says that the blessing of Abraham has come upon the Gentiles by Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:14). Then I got down to the twenty-ninth verse where it says, "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and HEIRS ACCORDING TO THE PROMISE."
Suddenly the truth hit me. I got so excited I could hardly stand myself.
I turned back over to Deuteronomy 28 and--line by line--I read those promised blessings. "Blessed in the city, blessed in the country. Blessed going out, blessed coming in. Blessed in your barns, blessed in your fields, blessed in all the works of your hands." Man, I had struck it rich!
Tuesday, 7 February 2012
Breaking Curses From Our Lives
Breaking Curses From Our Lives
Today, we think of "cursing" as someone using foul language, profanity, or perhaps, even blasphemous words against God. Our definition usually is synonymous with "swearing." This is a form of cursing, but it is only a small portion of what curses mean in the Bible.
Cursing in the Bible is not only speaking evil of someone, but evil coming upon someone. If a person is under a curse, according to the Bible, evil has come upon them in some way. Sickness, tragedy, or bad circumstances are occurring in their lives.
Please Note: This does not mean that every difficult circumstance that we go through is a curse. Sometimes God leads us through circumstances to stretch our faith. This is for our own good, as it is helping us to grow stronger and identify ourselves with Him. However, He is not bringing anything upon us, but rather leading us through a circumstance so that we might experience His overcoming power. For the duration of this article we are referring to an evil curse that comes not from the hand of God, but from the enemy.
Even today, in many cultures, witch doctors or shamans put curses on people through demonic powers. In some cultures, for example, "voodoo" is practiced. This includes such practices as sticking pins in a doll made in the image of a person, usually with some of that person's hair, fingernail clippings, and so forth incorporated into the doll. Hateful words are projected as the doll is stabbed over and over. There also are more gruesome practices used. However, with all evil witchcraft rituals, it is the hatred and evil projected from these people that is aimed at the targeted person that causes the harm. The curses spoken over that doll do not come to pass because of the doll or the pins. There is no power in those inanimate objects. They come to pass because of the demonic power operating through the person speaking forth the curses.
In many cultures, other than Western Societies, people have no problem understanding these curses and blessings, because the presence of demonic beings is very real to them. In fact, in many places, they leave offerings to appease evil spirits, for the purpose of warding them off so they will leave them alone.
If you have been affected by a curse such as listed above, we have good news for you. By accepting Jesus, you can be free from demonic oppression and actually have authority over the devil and his curses (Luke 9:1) instead of his spirits having power over you or your family.
Can A Curse Affect A Christian?
In today's culture, some Christians still have curses operating against them. That is because various occult practices are openly practiced in our societies in this day. Many Christians need to be freed from curses spoken against them before they were saved, or from curses that have come upon them through involvement in idolatry and witchcraft (Deuteronomy 29:24-28).
We have been redeemed from the curse, but if we walk in willful rebellion, we are "breaking covenant" and that leaves holes for the enemy to bring a curse on us. Many Christians mistakenly believe that the devil cannot come near them in any way. The Bible does not support this theory. When Paul wrote to "not give the devil any foothold, or a place" (Ephesians 4:27), he was writing to Christians! Curses can work against Christians if they are in rebellion, out of the will of God, or not walking in faith and love. However, if we are walking where God wants us to walk, a hundred curses against us would just bounce off and would do us no harm.
The story of Balaam and Israel gives us a good example of this principle (Numbers 22). Although Balaam was not an Israelite, he was a prophet of God. The kings of Moab and Midian wanted him to curse the Israelites during the journey from Egypt to Canaan. Elders of those nations offered him what apparently was a lot of money, and he tried to do what their king wanted -- but he could not. He tried three times but was unable to do anything, but bless Israel.
Jesus Took the Curse For Us
Before we are born again, we walk under the law of sin and death; but, after we are regenerated, we are under the law of life in Christ Jesus, who became a curse for us.
"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2).
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:13-14).
How wonderful is our inheritance as Christians! We do not get the evil that should be ours. We all deserve hell, but when we come to Jesus, we get Heaven. We are not under the curse of sickness and death any longer. We now have power over sin through Jesus. Sin can no longer pull us around like bulls with rings in our noses. You know, leading an animal by that ring must hurt his nose sometimes. Many of us have been led around hurting with rings in our noses!
However, we have to want to overcome the habit of sinning. God will not violate our wills. If we want to keep on sinning after we are saved from the law of sin and death, He will allow us to do so. We need to clearly understand that when we sin, it produces the death principle in our lives.
Although we are children of God and have been given the covenant of blessing, "idols" in our hearts and lives can cause us to be open in some ways to the curse. Those who come under the curses of God are unbelievers and Christians who knowingly and deliberately continue to sin.
Breaking a Curse
The way to break a curse is to repent for whatever involvement has occurred on the enemy's territory and rebuke the devil out of your life. You should also pray something along the following lines:
"Father, I ask you first to forgive me for my sins and cleanse me from any area where I have allowed the devil to enter my life. I renounce any involvement with the works of darkness. In the name of Jesus, I now cancel every curse, and Father, I ask you to forgive the people who have spoken them against me. I thank you that those curses will no longer operate against me. In Jesus' name, they are broken right now, by the power of Almighty God. I cancel every evil that was spoken against me and ask you to cover me and my family with your protection according to your Word in Psalm 91."
The Bible tells us in James 4:7 to "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
If we think that someone is speaking a curse upon us, we should not send a curse back on the one who sent it to us. We are not to return evil for evil, but rather overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). Ask God to forgive them, because many times they do not know what they are doing. If you intercede for such persons, you are obeying the Word, which allows the Holy Spirit to cancel the curse automatically if we are speaking good and praying for those who would seek to harm us. We should also quote the scriptures that promise us protection such as Psalm 91.
Remember the devil is the fallen one and we have power over him, so we need not fear him. As we use our authority over him in faith, he cannot hurt us. We have power over all curses through our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Luke 10:18: "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
bible.com
Today, we think of "cursing" as someone using foul language, profanity, or perhaps, even blasphemous words against God. Our definition usually is synonymous with "swearing." This is a form of cursing, but it is only a small portion of what curses mean in the Bible.
Cursing in the Bible is not only speaking evil of someone, but evil coming upon someone. If a person is under a curse, according to the Bible, evil has come upon them in some way. Sickness, tragedy, or bad circumstances are occurring in their lives.
Please Note: This does not mean that every difficult circumstance that we go through is a curse. Sometimes God leads us through circumstances to stretch our faith. This is for our own good, as it is helping us to grow stronger and identify ourselves with Him. However, He is not bringing anything upon us, but rather leading us through a circumstance so that we might experience His overcoming power. For the duration of this article we are referring to an evil curse that comes not from the hand of God, but from the enemy.
Even today, in many cultures, witch doctors or shamans put curses on people through demonic powers. In some cultures, for example, "voodoo" is practiced. This includes such practices as sticking pins in a doll made in the image of a person, usually with some of that person's hair, fingernail clippings, and so forth incorporated into the doll. Hateful words are projected as the doll is stabbed over and over. There also are more gruesome practices used. However, with all evil witchcraft rituals, it is the hatred and evil projected from these people that is aimed at the targeted person that causes the harm. The curses spoken over that doll do not come to pass because of the doll or the pins. There is no power in those inanimate objects. They come to pass because of the demonic power operating through the person speaking forth the curses.
In many cultures, other than Western Societies, people have no problem understanding these curses and blessings, because the presence of demonic beings is very real to them. In fact, in many places, they leave offerings to appease evil spirits, for the purpose of warding them off so they will leave them alone.
If you have been affected by a curse such as listed above, we have good news for you. By accepting Jesus, you can be free from demonic oppression and actually have authority over the devil and his curses (Luke 9:1) instead of his spirits having power over you or your family.
Can A Curse Affect A Christian?
In today's culture, some Christians still have curses operating against them. That is because various occult practices are openly practiced in our societies in this day. Many Christians need to be freed from curses spoken against them before they were saved, or from curses that have come upon them through involvement in idolatry and witchcraft (Deuteronomy 29:24-28).
We have been redeemed from the curse, but if we walk in willful rebellion, we are "breaking covenant" and that leaves holes for the enemy to bring a curse on us. Many Christians mistakenly believe that the devil cannot come near them in any way. The Bible does not support this theory. When Paul wrote to "not give the devil any foothold, or a place" (Ephesians 4:27), he was writing to Christians! Curses can work against Christians if they are in rebellion, out of the will of God, or not walking in faith and love. However, if we are walking where God wants us to walk, a hundred curses against us would just bounce off and would do us no harm.
The story of Balaam and Israel gives us a good example of this principle (Numbers 22). Although Balaam was not an Israelite, he was a prophet of God. The kings of Moab and Midian wanted him to curse the Israelites during the journey from Egypt to Canaan. Elders of those nations offered him what apparently was a lot of money, and he tried to do what their king wanted -- but he could not. He tried three times but was unable to do anything, but bless Israel.
Jesus Took the Curse For Us
Before we are born again, we walk under the law of sin and death; but, after we are regenerated, we are under the law of life in Christ Jesus, who became a curse for us.
"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:2).
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:13-14).
How wonderful is our inheritance as Christians! We do not get the evil that should be ours. We all deserve hell, but when we come to Jesus, we get Heaven. We are not under the curse of sickness and death any longer. We now have power over sin through Jesus. Sin can no longer pull us around like bulls with rings in our noses. You know, leading an animal by that ring must hurt his nose sometimes. Many of us have been led around hurting with rings in our noses!
However, we have to want to overcome the habit of sinning. God will not violate our wills. If we want to keep on sinning after we are saved from the law of sin and death, He will allow us to do so. We need to clearly understand that when we sin, it produces the death principle in our lives.
Although we are children of God and have been given the covenant of blessing, "idols" in our hearts and lives can cause us to be open in some ways to the curse. Those who come under the curses of God are unbelievers and Christians who knowingly and deliberately continue to sin.
Breaking a Curse
The way to break a curse is to repent for whatever involvement has occurred on the enemy's territory and rebuke the devil out of your life. You should also pray something along the following lines:
"Father, I ask you first to forgive me for my sins and cleanse me from any area where I have allowed the devil to enter my life. I renounce any involvement with the works of darkness. In the name of Jesus, I now cancel every curse, and Father, I ask you to forgive the people who have spoken them against me. I thank you that those curses will no longer operate against me. In Jesus' name, they are broken right now, by the power of Almighty God. I cancel every evil that was spoken against me and ask you to cover me and my family with your protection according to your Word in Psalm 91."
The Bible tells us in James 4:7 to "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
If we think that someone is speaking a curse upon us, we should not send a curse back on the one who sent it to us. We are not to return evil for evil, but rather overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). Ask God to forgive them, because many times they do not know what they are doing. If you intercede for such persons, you are obeying the Word, which allows the Holy Spirit to cancel the curse automatically if we are speaking good and praying for those who would seek to harm us. We should also quote the scriptures that promise us protection such as Psalm 91.
Remember the devil is the fallen one and we have power over him, so we need not fear him. As we use our authority over him in faith, he cannot hurt us. We have power over all curses through our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Luke 10:18: "And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
bible.com
Do Blessings and Curses Affect New Covenant Believers?
Do Blessings and Curses Affect New Covenant Believers?
"And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good" (Jeremiah 32:38-41).
The innermost desire of God is to accomplish the best for us in our lives, because we are entered into a blood covenant with Him. He wants to draw us unto Himself, to teach us to trust and totally depend upon Him. He wants to brings us into a relationship where we are at one with Him.
Drawing us to Himself is God's purpose for "cutting covenant" with man. His desire is to fill us with Himself: His love, His blessings, His nature as expressed in Jesus, and His grace (Ephesians 1:23, 3:19, 4:13). In this covenant relationship, He desires that we delight ourselves in Him, that we love Him with our entire beings, that we know He is all in all to us.
Many Christians want to claim all of the "blessings of Abraham" but forget about the curses that are also listed in Bible. There are curses that come upon us if we fail to keep our part of the covenant (Deuteronomy 28; Leviticus 26). However, if the Old Covenant simply was swallowed up in a better covenant, or fulfilled in Jesus, then the new covenant--also a blood covenant--still has all of the same "clauses" or parts as the old. A blood covenant is a blood covenant.
The part that changed was how the covenant was sealed, memorialized, and received. As you study these aspects of the Old and New Covenants, you will notice many striking similarities between them:
The Old Covenant was sealed with circumcision in the flesh of the male heads of households, which covered all of the women in that house as well.
The New Covenant is sealed by "circumcision" of the heart (Romans 2:29), which happens when a person is born again, adopted into the family of God through a blood covenant. The entering in to this covenant with God is publicly displayed through baptism, much like a wedding ceremony publicly seals the marriage covenant between a man and woman.
What the Old Covenant emphasized outwardly, the New Covenant emphasizes inwardly. Yet, all along, God has looked for those who are His, through more than a mere fleshly ritual. Even in the Old Covenant, what He was really after was the hearts of His people:
"Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem" (Jeremiah 4:4).
The Old Covenant was memorialized by Passover, signifying that those under His covenant blessings were not susceptible to the curses, plagues or judgments that God reserves for those who oppose His ways. People under His covenant are blessed, while those that are not under His covenant are cursed when their "iniquity" is full (Genesis 15:16). That means the wrath of God in judgment falls when they have refused all the attempts of God to bring them to repentance and there is no other possibility of their hearts turning to Him.
The New Covenant is memorialized by Communion (Luke 22:15-20), the Passover meal that Jesus ate with His disciples during the Last Supper. Today, when we partake of Communion, we are partaking of a type of the Passover meal that the Israelites ate. The ritual of Communion does not save us, but as we mix this tradition with faith towards God, we receive the blessings of Covenant with Him. As with circumcision, the real issue once again, is our hearts toward God. That is why Paul warned that we must partake of Communion in a worthy manner and check our hearts before partaking of it.
"For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged" (1 Corinthians 11:26-31).
The Old Covenant was "received" by the animal sacrifices. However, once again, the person's heart also was involved. One could sacrifice animals for their sins, and still have a rebellious and unpleasing heart towards the Lord. Without a heart toward God which was manifested in willing obedience, the Covenant promises were null and void over that person, tribe, or nation. Disobedience to the Lord brings the curses. Today we see the fruit of disobedience to God’s laws manifested in various curses in people’s lives. Broken family relationships, extreme poverty, lack of self-discipline and many other similar things are part of the curses that we see in the world today. Being willing and obedient, however, allows God’s people to "...eat of the fat of the land" (Isaiah 1:10).
The New Covenant is received by faith in the one-time, eternal sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary (Romans 10:9,10). Though Jesus died for the whole world’s sins, many will never receive the benefits of it because they do not believe in Him. Even many Christians who are under the blood of Jesus do not fully understand, nor believe that the blessings of the New Covenant can really be theirs. From the beginning, those who entered into a covenant with God, followed more than mere outward directions given by God. Always, these directions and religious traditions were to be mixed with faith, hope and love. Otherwise they mean nothing to God.
Born again Christians are children of Abraham by faith (Galatians 3:29) through His Promised Seed, Jesus, (Galatians 3:2,19). However, without a heart manifested in willing obedience, the promises are null and void. This means the curses automatically begin to operate.
In the next issue of the Overcoming Life Digest, we will examine various aspects of the blessings and the curses and how God’s covenant partners can walk in all the blessings He has for them.
(Continued next issue)
Note: This teaching is continued from last month's Overcoming Life Digest. See Table of Contents for Archives.
(Excerpt from the book entitled: COVENANT God's Guarantee for Victorious Living by R.S. "Bud" Miller)
Return to Table of Contents for this Issue
bible.com
"And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good" (Jeremiah 32:38-41).
The innermost desire of God is to accomplish the best for us in our lives, because we are entered into a blood covenant with Him. He wants to draw us unto Himself, to teach us to trust and totally depend upon Him. He wants to brings us into a relationship where we are at one with Him.
Drawing us to Himself is God's purpose for "cutting covenant" with man. His desire is to fill us with Himself: His love, His blessings, His nature as expressed in Jesus, and His grace (Ephesians 1:23, 3:19, 4:13). In this covenant relationship, He desires that we delight ourselves in Him, that we love Him with our entire beings, that we know He is all in all to us.
Many Christians want to claim all of the "blessings of Abraham" but forget about the curses that are also listed in Bible. There are curses that come upon us if we fail to keep our part of the covenant (Deuteronomy 28; Leviticus 26). However, if the Old Covenant simply was swallowed up in a better covenant, or fulfilled in Jesus, then the new covenant--also a blood covenant--still has all of the same "clauses" or parts as the old. A blood covenant is a blood covenant.
The part that changed was how the covenant was sealed, memorialized, and received. As you study these aspects of the Old and New Covenants, you will notice many striking similarities between them:
The Old Covenant was sealed with circumcision in the flesh of the male heads of households, which covered all of the women in that house as well.
The New Covenant is sealed by "circumcision" of the heart (Romans 2:29), which happens when a person is born again, adopted into the family of God through a blood covenant. The entering in to this covenant with God is publicly displayed through baptism, much like a wedding ceremony publicly seals the marriage covenant between a man and woman.
What the Old Covenant emphasized outwardly, the New Covenant emphasizes inwardly. Yet, all along, God has looked for those who are His, through more than a mere fleshly ritual. Even in the Old Covenant, what He was really after was the hearts of His people:
"Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem" (Jeremiah 4:4).
The Old Covenant was memorialized by Passover, signifying that those under His covenant blessings were not susceptible to the curses, plagues or judgments that God reserves for those who oppose His ways. People under His covenant are blessed, while those that are not under His covenant are cursed when their "iniquity" is full (Genesis 15:16). That means the wrath of God in judgment falls when they have refused all the attempts of God to bring them to repentance and there is no other possibility of their hearts turning to Him.
The New Covenant is memorialized by Communion (Luke 22:15-20), the Passover meal that Jesus ate with His disciples during the Last Supper. Today, when we partake of Communion, we are partaking of a type of the Passover meal that the Israelites ate. The ritual of Communion does not save us, but as we mix this tradition with faith towards God, we receive the blessings of Covenant with Him. As with circumcision, the real issue once again, is our hearts toward God. That is why Paul warned that we must partake of Communion in a worthy manner and check our hearts before partaking of it.
"For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged" (1 Corinthians 11:26-31).
The Old Covenant was "received" by the animal sacrifices. However, once again, the person's heart also was involved. One could sacrifice animals for their sins, and still have a rebellious and unpleasing heart towards the Lord. Without a heart toward God which was manifested in willing obedience, the Covenant promises were null and void over that person, tribe, or nation. Disobedience to the Lord brings the curses. Today we see the fruit of disobedience to God’s laws manifested in various curses in people’s lives. Broken family relationships, extreme poverty, lack of self-discipline and many other similar things are part of the curses that we see in the world today. Being willing and obedient, however, allows God’s people to "...eat of the fat of the land" (Isaiah 1:10).
The New Covenant is received by faith in the one-time, eternal sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary (Romans 10:9,10). Though Jesus died for the whole world’s sins, many will never receive the benefits of it because they do not believe in Him. Even many Christians who are under the blood of Jesus do not fully understand, nor believe that the blessings of the New Covenant can really be theirs. From the beginning, those who entered into a covenant with God, followed more than mere outward directions given by God. Always, these directions and religious traditions were to be mixed with faith, hope and love. Otherwise they mean nothing to God.
Born again Christians are children of Abraham by faith (Galatians 3:29) through His Promised Seed, Jesus, (Galatians 3:2,19). However, without a heart manifested in willing obedience, the promises are null and void. This means the curses automatically begin to operate.
In the next issue of the Overcoming Life Digest, we will examine various aspects of the blessings and the curses and how God’s covenant partners can walk in all the blessings He has for them.
(Continued next issue)
Note: This teaching is continued from last month's Overcoming Life Digest. See Table of Contents for Archives.
(Excerpt from the book entitled: COVENANT God's Guarantee for Victorious Living by R.S. "Bud" Miller)
Return to Table of Contents for this Issue
bible.com
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