Deuteronomy 30:19 says,"This day I have called heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live."
Time to talk about a subject that people don't like about. Preachers, pastors, psychologists, counselors, teachers, etc. try to explain away problems or throw pills at them. Have we forgotten we are spiritual beings? Have we forgotten that this is a war? Have we forgotten that what we do matters? Yes, we have forgotten! Now let us remember!
1 Corinthians 16:22 says," If anyone does not love the Lord, a curse be on him!" That's the Apostle Paul being led by the Holy Spirit. I wanted to throw that one in there for anyone who likes to disregard the Old Testament. Curses by godly men were spoken well past Jesus' time. I understand that we can't take the Word out of context, but you can't treat it like two books--it's one book with the same message throughout. I'll sum it up: We made a big mess and God needs to get us out of it!
So now let us talk about what messes we've gotten ourselves into. One thing that we do from time to time (but some of us are really good at) is DISOBEDIENCE. Disobedience brings a curse! REBELLION, DISRESPECT FOR AUTHORITY (whom God put there), ANY FORM OF OCCULT (horoscope, witchcraft, mind-altering drugs), NEGATIVE SPEECH, MORAL SINS, SINS OF OUR ANCESTORS, LEGALISM, CARNALITY, APOSTASY, THEFT, PURGERY, ROBBING GOD (tithe), SELF-IMPOSED CURSES (cursing oneself or one's own body), CURSES SPOKEN OVER US BY SERVANTS OF SATAN, etc. These are all things we deal with that muck up our lives and steal our freedom that Christ wants to give us.
Haggai 1:5 says,"This is what the Lord Almighty says,'give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill, you put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it." If any of you think I'm preaching too hard, I'll tell you personally that my life used to be like this verse. Now that God has shown me the mess I was in and how to get out, I literally have no need. I don't want to brag, but I'm a blessed man. We've been able to do things on my meager income that people don't normally do, and it's all God's blessing. If you feel that you're putting your money into a purse with holes in it, you probably are!
My desire for the people of God is to be blessed. This can not be done accidentally. It's easy to fall into a pit or a murky quagmire, but it takes a little bit more work to get out of it. Let me just say that I highly recommend that you read Derek Prince's book "Blessing and Curses: you can choose". I'm pulling a lot of this information straight from this book and it has helped us immensely to put an end to curses and to enter the blessings of God.
One important thing that I've learned is that forceful men take hold of the Kingdom of God. If you're just content to get stomped on by the world and kicked around by Satan, then that's exactly what you're going to get. But if you, as a son or daughter of God, rise up in Christ and have the boldness to say,"I am blessed, and I want nothing less," that forcefulness will see you through. This is not for the faint of heart. There's a certain truth in the saying,"Nothing's free"; true, God's grace is free for everybody, but it cost Christ everything. His grace is free to all, but His blessings are conditional; you cannot live the way you want to and expect to be blessed. He tells us clearly in the Word what He blesses and what He doesn't. See Deuteronomy 28. The cool thing about God's Word is that if you honor it, the blessings will overtake you. On the flipside, if you rebel against it, the same thing happens with the curses. Either way, God's Word is supreme and it has the power to rule all men.
On the money, Daniel. We are more than conquerors - this is why I have labeled myself "Warrior Princess". That is exactly who I am. Forceful men and women have to take hold of the Kingdom of God, and there is no reason why Christ-followers have to be victimized by Satan and the forces of darkness. We are already victorious, and I have to constantly remind myself to live that way. It's been harder without Kevin, but by God's grace I have been living in victory more than in defeat!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for reminding people that we CANNOT THROW OUT THE OLD TESTAMENT! They are a package deal, whether people like it or not. Same God, same message, deal with the paradox of love and justice - God is love, and all He does is good!
Great post!
I, too, am pleasantly surprised to see the two testaments used as a whole. I think there's only one thing I would like to say about your post that bothered me a little. I just want to confirm that you are not saying that the Child of God will be subject to curses if not he does not follow the law. That would be contrary to Scripture, as the Spririt of the Living God lives within His children and is not subject to any curse. What I perceive is that when a Christian disobeys God's ordinances, he will naturally suffer the consequences of his actions. As in the physical world, if you know you should not stick your hand in the fire but do so anyway, you will be burned. I don't believe God delivers punishment to His children; He just allows them to suffer those consequences, never abandoning them. I have been one of "those children" and I know very firmly that the Lord has always been with me when I stepped off the straight and narrow. What I suffered the most was the shame that I felt for having misrepresented my Father and being a poor witness in the world. All the fallout of my actions were awful, too, but none compared to the sorrow I felt for my poor representation of Christ in me.
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