The mystery of covenants unveiled (part 8)

What are the 4 signs (possibly among others) that tithing is a covenant?

1. We have identified in Genesis 14:18 that the High Priest brought forth bread and wine as a symbol of a covenant. This symbolism was repeated by Jesus at the last supper.

We mentioned in Part 2 that adhering to the terms of a covenant bestows a blessing, while its breach bestows a curse.

2. Malachi 3:9 NLT, says " You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me". We see clearly that God stipulates the breach of a covenant and thus a curse.

3 . Likewise in Malachi 3:10 NLT, God says,  "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heavens Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!"
Here we see God proclaiming a blessing on those who adhere to the covenant.

4. We mentioned in Part 1 of the series that God is a God of covenants. Another evidence of tithing as a covenant is the exhortation for us to test him in V10. Nowhere else in His Word does God permit man to test Him. We are usually expected to accept His word in faith. But curiously as concerning tithing, God says, "Test me"! This can only mean God is operating as he has always done over centuries of engaging His chosen. Through covenants.

Children of God today need to understand that true abundance is sustained through 2 primary and complementary means.

The first is God's unmerited blessings through Grace. This is the "receiving" end of abundance.

1Cor 4:7 NLT, " For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn't given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?"

As we see, abundance is freely given from God. It is a gift.

The second arm of abundance comes through preventing the enemy from devouring it. We will all agree that it is one thing to receive abundance, but it is another entirely to successfully retain it.

We may have an extremely fast gushing tap of water in our backyard, but if we only have baskets to fetch the water, then we cannot enjoy the abundant water, and when the tap stops running we are as starved as those who never had a tap!

It is crucial spiritually to be able to retain God's blessings in order to enjoy abundance. And the only way to achieve that as a child of God is through the faithful payment of our COMPLETE tithes.

Note that the passage in V10 says "bring ALL the tithes into the storehouse". This is an indication of the importance God places on it. God can only protect the abundance you declare through tithing. It's just like insurance. The value you declare as the worth of your property, which is signified by the premium you pay, is indicative of the payout the insurance company will pay should there be a loss on that property.

The devourer mentioned in V11 refers to spiritual forces working directly against God's children. They are aware of all that goes on with God's children and always seek out a means to shortchange us. 

When we omit fulfilling the terms of any covenant with God, it is these forces that point out the clauses in the spiritual contract which we have breached. God cannot go against His word and therefore is legally forced to permit the repercussions for the breach.

I will repeat here again that the covenant of salvation of man from the consequences of sin is NOT negotiated between man and God. Therefore nothing can erase our salvation accepted through faith in Christ and spiritually affirmed through baptism (full immersion in water as done by Jesus himself). Our salvation was negotiated between Jesus our High Priest and God the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Therefore our salvation is sealed and untouchable by any spiritual force in existence, period. We have eternal life whether the enemy likes it or not!

However there are other covenants that we must adhere to if we must fulfil all the potential that Christ placed in us through his death on calvary's cross. Tithing is a crucial one of them.

Our secret weapon in all these legal maneuvering is the Holy Spirit. The truth is that we may not be aware of many of the pitfalls and potential errors we can commit especially in the spiritual, but it is the Holy Spirit that let's us know how to manoeuvre and fulfil our spiritual obligations in order to achieve our destinies as mapped out for us by God.

"Walk in the Spirit ", says Galatians 5:16 NIV, " and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh".

Let us not just follow blind instinct and be carried away by our physical needs to the extent of neglecting our spiritual obligations. This is where complete reliance on God is key. Your income may not be enough to meet your monthly needs even without tithing, but it is very foolish to dig ourselves into spiritual holes which lead us into physical debt while applying human logic to our situation.

Debt in a child of God is an indication of a spiritual problem.

"Walk in the Spirit" brethren. Tithes should be paid FIRST!!! Especially for business men and women, this is extremely crucial. There is the temptation to want to complete a transaction before calculating the profit. As a businessman I understand this perfectly. But tithes must be paid immediately income is received! This will enable us spiritually rebuke the devourer and ward him away from our abundance under the authority of Jesus Christ.

"To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace " Romans 8:6

These admonitions may sound illogical, but so go spiritual things. They often seem to turn logic on its head.

To be continued

The mystery of covenants unveiled (part 7)

Jesus said in Matt 5:17 NLT " "Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not
come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose".

In other words the lethargy and evasion of the body of Christ  towards the admonitions of the old testament may be doing us more harm than good.

The old testament is equally a part of the authoritative Word of God as much as the new testament is!

An example is Malachi 3:8-12

8."“Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me.

9. You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me.

10. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heavens Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!

11. Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

12. “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the LORD of Heavens Armies."

A tithe is a spiritual symbol. We observe it for the first time in the Bible in Genesis 14:20b NLT " Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered".

Abram had just returned from a battle where he had defeated 5 strong and recently victorious armies with just 318 of his servants and 3 other allies. He knew his victory had not come by his own strength or that of his allies.

He was met by King Melchizedek of Salem, described as the High priest of God Most High. This elusive character then goes ahead to give Abram bread and wine before blessing him.

Let us recall the symbolism of bread and wine in the new testament where Jesus (our eternal High priest of the new covenant) shares out bread and wine amongst his disciples.

Jesus describes the bread as his body, and the wine as his blood, a symbol of a new COVENANT.

Mark 14:24 NLT " And he said to them, "This is my blood, which
confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many".

In other words, Jesus presents bread and  wine as a symbol of a COVENANT!

This is a vital clue as to the purpose of King Melchizedek's presentation of bread and wine to Abram. It was a symbol of a covenant. This means the presumed meeting was actually a covenant remembrance, which culminated in Abram handing over a tithe of all the recovered spoils to the priest of God Most High.

Let us now look at the passage in Malachi 3:8-12 with more clarity.

To be continued

The mystery of covenants unveiled (part 6)

As a Christian, it is important to note the power of substitution in our lives. Christ became a substitute for us on the cross of calvary so that we no longer have to face the consequences of sin, which is death, but can now live eternally. When God looks upon us, he sees our substitute, Christ.

Likewise it is important that all we have is substituted to the ownership of Christ in order that our wealth is beyond the jurisdiction of any curse or force of spiritual retribution.

When we gave our lives to Christ, it meant our lives were removed from the jurisdiction of the enemy and therefore our lives are no longer at the mercy of any evil force. It is therefore very unwise to leave our material abundance at the mercy of the same enemy our lives have been removed from.

It is foolhardy to embrace Christ without taking laid down steps to hand over our possessions to Him, and then sit back and complain that we are not reaping from the abundance purchased for us through Him.

Jesus said, the enemy has come for no other reason but to steal, kill and destroy John 10:10. Christ also said his own work was to bestow on us a life of abundance! (" The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly").

In clear language, the first part of the verse means the enemy wants to steal from us.  Steal what? Our abundance; from stealing, he then tries to kill us, but he can't since our lives are hidden in Christ. And then he tries to destroy our future, our relationships, and everything we hold dear. This too has to be substituted in Christ.

In other words, a child of God living in poverty is not manifesting the purpose of Christ!

I would normally shy away from being tagged a "prosperity preacher", were it not so important to the destiny of the body of Christ for this message to sink into each and every one of us!

It is part of Christ's purpose on calvary's cross that all God's children experience a life of abundance.

Sadly, the Bible also predicts that there will always be poor people in the land (God's Kingdom) Deut 15:11 NIV " , There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open handed toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land", Matt 26:11 NIV " The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me".

The question is this, does the fact that a prediction of poverty exists in God's word (for those  too ignorant to overcome it) make it compulsory that YOU have to be the one that ends up poor?

Not all humans will inherit the gift of eternal life. Must you be one of those that won't?

To be continued

The mystery of covenants unveiled (part 5)

In our walk as children of God, it is crucial that our complete trust and reliance is on only Him.

The Bible says in Jerusalem 17:5, "cursed is he who trusts in man". Jesus also mentions that material things will eventually decay or get stolen, but that value should be placed on only intangible things that will outlast our lives on earth.

Matthew 6:19-20 NIV, " Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and
where thieves do not break in and steal".

After the flood, God made a solemn promise never again to truncate the natural order of progression on the earth. Consequences would always follow actions without fail.

Genesis 8:22, NLT " As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night."

In several passages also, there have been agreements made between men that have been binding and honored even by God. An example is Esau (Isaac's firstborn son), who swore an oath selling his birthright as firstborn to Jacob for a bowl of stew.

By doing so, the Bible says Esau despised his birthright. And the agreement was ratified by God.

Likewise, agreements (covenants), oaths, and even curses have been invoked severally over time between flesh and between spirits, or a combination of both, that have become binding on men.

An example is told in Joshua 9 where the Hivitte Kingdom of Gibeon pledged loyalty to Israel under false pretenses and obtained a covenant of peace from Israel. They were spared destruction because Israel didn't consult God first before making the covenant. When Joshua the leader realised Israel had been tricked, and realising that the covenant was binding and recognized by God, he placed a curse on Gibeon (Joshua 9:23) and consigned their future generations to servitude to Israel. They remained under this curse until Israel was exiled away from the promised land.

As human beings, there is a limit to what we know about the agreements or trespasses which have been binding on our ancestors. Some have made covenants which their descendants have unknowingly contravened. This has brought them under spiritual bondage that they are not aware of.

Many of these types of spiritual constraints hold back the children of God from fulfilling their destiny of abundance and overcoming.

In the area of wealth, these spiritual constraints act as rodents which devour our savings and conspire to keep us in poverty.

This is why it seems some are financially successful even when they do not know or fear God, and many of God's children are perpetually in poverty.  Spiritual covenants are either constraining some or giving others amazing leverage to be exceedingly successful.

In all this discussion, let us not lose sight of what is most important. Even when we break every stronghold which holds back our claim on abundance which Jesus already purchased for us, we should never forget our trust and reliance and sustenance MUST remain on ONLY God.

Jesus says this about our spiritual authority. Luke 10:20 NLT "But don't rejoice because evil spirits obey you; rejoice because your names are registered in heaven".

To be continued

How God teaches us to love

Marriage can be a very stressful experience. From almost the moment when the knot is tied, the new couple starts to realize the difficulty in two people with different backgrounds and mindsets coming together to form a single unit. Oftentimes this "unit" feels like one only in name.

In the  book of Genesis (3:16) during the time of Adam and Eve, God alluded to the woman's desire to always seek control of the man in her relationship, while countless researches have confirmed the man's greatest desire in marriage is respect. And it always seems respect is the last thing a man's wife accords him.

I recently got thinking though, what is God's desire for us in marriage? The clearest indication of this is in Ephesians 5:25. Husbands are commanded to love their wives.

Why?

In my walk with God I've severally been tempted just to "make do" with a right standing with God, and any other addition with my wife. In other words I (rightly) felt my relationship with God is all that matters. However I've felt more lethargic about the importance of my relationship with my wife. For those who are married this isn't too hard to understand.

But I got thinking, could part of the reason for God's creation of the institution of marriage be to teach us how to love? Think about it from God's point of view. Man is an exasperating creature. With all our character inconsistencies, negative behavior, consistent misdemeanors, and other mental and emotional flaws, God still loves us and never abandons us.

Could he be teaching us how to do the same through marriage? It's so easy just to disconnect from our wives when misunderstandings arise, and "face"  God, rather than thrash things out with them. But God never disconnects from us even when he doesn't approve of our direction.

When we offend him, he still looks out for us. This is love! God please give me the strength to love my wife, for love is the most difficult gift to give.

The mystery of covenants unveiled (part 4)

The reality is that an alarming percentage of Christians today aren't fulfilling their God - given potential in prosperity and abundance due to their ignorance of the power of covenants.

Firstly, what are God's children entitled to through Christ's covenant with God the Father?

Galatians 3:14 (NLT) "Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith."

In Genesis 12:2-3, God began laying out a comprehensive covenant with Abraham and his descendants Israel. Collectively known as "the blessing of Abraham" , it encompassed abundant fruitfulness in descendants, productivity, influence and spiritual authority. It also promised the descendants of Abraham, ownership of the "Promised" land of Canaan.

Jesus Christ's covenant connected all mankind with this blessing as an inheritance through faith. Interestingly, Jesus also spoke of the arrival of the "Kingdom of God" (Matthew 12:28).

In other words, the prosperity of Abraham, his influence, spiritual authority, divine health, and virility are our inheritance by faith.

We will take an in-depth look at one of the most rampant causes of poverty amongst God's children today.

I will first lay a background to my analysis.

1. Firstly, Jesus, as the only begotten Son of God, existed from the beginning of time. (John 1:1,14, 29)

2. Jesus came to earth in form of a man at some point roughly 2050 years ago or thereabouts

3. Human Jesus, though flesh and blood, was conceived not as a product of Joseph' sperm and Mary's egg, but by a supernatural invitro fertilization (i.e.  A sperm and egg combination not from earthly origin)

4. Therefore Jesus, not an actual blood descendant of Adam, though grafted in through his earthly parents Mary and Joseph, was not legally subject to the curse of Adam (spiritual death) and all Adam's generations.

5. Because Jesus was spiritually alive, this gave him the power to prevail over sin and enabled him to live a perfect life.

6. Having this unique advantage, it thus enabled him to negotiate a covenant with God the Father to be a substitute for all who are under Adam's curse

7. Therefore, Jesus paid the penalty every sinner is required to pay, so that sinners no longer need to pay it.

8. He therefore connected us to the initial edict God gave man in Gen 1:28 (i. be fruitful, ii. multiply iii. fill the earth iv. subdue it v. have dominion)

9. The new covenant negotiated by Christ upon His death at calvary is so comprehensive that it covers every aspect of life a human being lives on earth, and enables us to subdue the earth and reign in it, just as God commanded man in the beginning.

10. The new covenant of salvation through Christ's Jesus is superior to any other covenant we can ever have, as it connects us with the past, to several covenants God made with His chosen people centuries ago as recorded in the old testament, and it also connects us with the future, of everlasting life in eternity.

To be continued

The mystery of covenants unveiled (part 3)

The covenant of man's salvation from sin and death is not made between man and God. Otherwise our salvation would always be subject to our unreliable fulfilment of its terms.

No, our salvation is governed by a covenant between Christ our Saviour and God the Creator of the heavens and the earth. The terms pertaining to Christ in this covenant have already been fulfilled. Christ's sojourn on earth and subsequent torture and death marked his fulfilment of the covenant.

Isn't this wonderful? This means nothing we do or don't do can terminate our salvation bought by Christ once we accept it through faith, and signify it through baptism!

It is now the turn of God the Eternal Judge to fulfill his own part of the covenant.

This means that we are removed from under the curse brought by Adam's sin. It also means our spirits are born anew into eternal life and will never again experience death though our physical bodies may wither and die.

The Bible says there is nothing impossible for God to do, but I can tell you a few things God CANNOT do.

1. God cannot go back on His word
2. God cannot lie
3. God cannot stop loving us.

Since we are therefore sure that our future is secure in the covenant between Christ and our Creator, we must be careful not to desecrate the sacred covenant of which we are partakers.

We bring curses on ourselves when we despise our birthright purchased for us through Christ,  in committing the abomination of entering into covenants with spiritual forces of evil.

The biggest lie the enemy tries to sell us is that acceptance of Christ could remand us to a life of poverty, ill health and ultimately unfulfilled dreams in our sojourn on earth.

An alarming percentage of Christians are not fulfilling their destiny as concerning a life of abundance because of their ignorance of the power of covenants!

Hosea 4:6 (NIV)
my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.

To be continued