Tithing is Done with the Mouth – Deuteronomy 26

Tithing is done with the mouth from a heart of faith.  The tithe is the money or the gift.  We must be watchful to not be influenced by tradition and just thoughtlessly put our tithe into a bucket in church because it is expected.

Deuteronomy 26 gives specific and powerful instructions on what the tither is to do and say before The LORD.  It says to bring the firstfruits of your increase, put them in a basket, and take them before the priests that shall be in those days. (Verses 2-4)  In these days of the new covenant, Jesus is our High Priest, and you and I are priests under His command.   Revelation 1:6 “and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.”  We must be aware that here on earth ministers receive our tithes; but in heaven our High Priest receives them.  Hebrews 7:8 “Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.”   Each time we bring the tithe before The LORD, we are further developing our faith in THE BLESSING and strengthening our faith in God’s provision.

Genesis 26:4  “I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of the heavens and will give your descendants all these lands.  By your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed.”

Proverbs 10:22  “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.

Galatians 3:8  “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand saying, “in you all the nations shall be blessed.”

Bring your tithe before The LORD before you ever get to church, if that’s where you give your tithes.  Turn to Deuteronomy 26 and look at the commanded confessions there.  Since Jesus is the High Priest over our confession (Hebrews 3:1), take your tithe in hand, lift it before The LORD, and transfer the words in Deuteronomy 26 into the new covenant.  Where it speaks of the children of Israel being in slavery in Egypt, remember how The LORD saved you out of the slavery of sin and translated you into the kingdom of His dear Son.  Colossians 1:13  “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.”  Begin to build, from the words of Deuteronomy 26, your profession of faith in Jesus and in His WORD.  Increase your faith in THE BLESSING.

Declare, with rejoicing, that you are BLESSED.  Let the tithe become a tool in worshipping The LORD.  Then be quiet, and listen for what your High Priest has to say.  That’s when anointings from heaven come; messages from Him, the start of the healing process in your body, or the start of your financial turnaround.  Your great High Priest has received your tithe and taken it before the Father to worship Him with it, just as the earthly priests did in the old covenant.  Jump up, and praise God.  Dance around a little while, praising your great High Priest.  Say ‘Thank you, LORD, that the devourer is rebuked for my sake.  Malachi 3:11  “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the Lord of hosts.”  The windows of heaven are open to me!  I’M BLESSED, I’M BLESSED, I’M BLESSED.

Word of Faith Study Bible, Kenneth Copeland

Deuteronomy 28:1-14  “Now it will be, if you will diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I am commanding you today, then the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.  And all these blessings will come on you and overtake you if you listen to the voice of the Lord your God.  You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the field.  Your offspring will be blessed, and the produce of your ground, and the offspring of your livestock, the increase of your herd and the flocks of your sleep.  Your basket and your kneading bowl will be blessed.  You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.  The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way or flee before you seven ways.  The Lord will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you set your hand to do, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.  The Lord will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.  All people of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord and they shall be afraid of you.  The Lord will make you overflow in prosperity, in the offspring of your body, in the offspring of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the Lord swore to your father to give you.  The Lord will open up to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand.  You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow.  The Lord will make you the head and not the tail, you will only be above and you will not be beneath, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today, to observe and to do them.  Also, you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I am commanding you today to the right hand or to the lift, to go after other gods to serve them.”

Isaiah 10:27 Put the Devil on the Run

Isaiah 10:27 – “It shall come to pass in that day that his burdens will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing.”

Jesus is the Christ. The Greek word Christ means “the Anointed One.”   And since Isaiah 10:27 tells us the yoke of the devil is destroyed by the anointing, we don’t have to run scared when the devil comes against us, our loved ones or our nation. We can put him to flight with the blood of the Lamb, the Word of our testimony and the yoke-destroying Anointing of Jesus Christ Himself!

That’s what Jesus expects us to do. He has already taken care of every kind of trouble that could ever come to the human family when He was put on the Cross, raised from the dead, and glorified at the right hand of the Father. He spoiled the principalities and powers of darkness. He triumphed over them and made an open show of them – Colossians 2:15 ‘Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”. He stripped the devil of every last vestige of power. – every fragment – of power.

Jesus has done His part. He has taken back the devil’s authority over the earth and He has given it to us. Just before He ascended to heaven He said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Mathew 28:18-20) He delegated His power and authority to us – His Church – then “..after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool”. (Hebrews 10:12-13)

He expects us to stand up in the midst of the storms of life and dominate those storms with faith-filled words. He expects to look sickness and lack and terror in the face and say “You get under my feet in the Name of Jesus!”

I realize you may not feel like you can do that today. You may be facing the greatest struggle of your life. It may really be hard right now. But, regardless of how you feel, if you’re a born-again child of God, you can do it because the Boble says, “..for whoever is born of God overcomes the world, and the victory that overcomes the world is our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world, but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1John 5:4-5)

You are destined to overcome. You have that anointing – the Anointed One – residing on the inside of you if you are born again. Stir up that anointing. Stand up in the midst of the storm. Speak to it with all the power and authority that’s been given to you. If you’ll do that, you’ll dominate the storm and put the devil on the run!

Pursuit of His Presence by Kenneth & Gloria Copeland

“I Plead the Blood”

I went for years not knowing anything about the blood. I heard Pentecostal people plead the blood. You’d hear them all the time: ‘I plead the blood”. I could tell it was powerful, and I could tell they knew what they were doing, but I didn’t have the foggiest notion what pleading the blood actually meant.

I don’t know why I didn’t make the connection based on my background being American Indian. I should have. Indian life is based around blood covenants. They cut covenant. But when I finally did realize that God Almighty, in the blood of Jesus, has covenanted Himself to us…Man! I knew what those old-timers were saying and doing.

The devil has to respect the blood. When you say, “I plead the blood of Jesus in this situation,” that’s the blood by which the covenant was ratified, and the devil can’t touch it. There’s protection in the blood. There’s deliverance in the blood.

When you plead the blood, you have laid down your case and put your entire confidence on an oath that is covenant-sworn by Almighty God.

When Jesus took the Communion-cup in the upper room, He said, “Take this and drink it. This is the New Covenant in My blood, ratified for you.”

The blood guarantees certain things. It guarantees that every word in the written Word of God is a blood-sworn oath. That blood-sworn oath is an anchor to your soul. It becomes an inner strength on the inside of you. God is your Father and Jesus is your blood brother.   Everything that’s His is yours and everything that yours is His.

To be afraid to act or speak before you can see or feel something is to doubt God’s sworn oath, the Name of Jesus and the blood of the lamb.

Jesus’ blood shed for you obliterated your sin on the cross. When you received Jesus as your Lord, you took your place in your part of the new covenant and activated your freedom. And every time you repent of sin, it is destroyed forever and you are cleansed of its effect. That’s why you can walk free of condemnation.

If the devil accuses you, don’t walk in guilt. Guilt isn’t yours. You’ve been given freedom. When you feel like you’re in front of a judge and he asks, “How do you plead?” say, “I plead the blood of Jesus! I’m innocent of that.”

“Case Closed – lack of evidence!!”

Hallelujah! The devil has to honor the blood!

By Kenneth Copeland

Further Study:

Ephesians 1:7;  Hebrews 9:11-10:23

How Do You Value Your Worth?

Taken from ‘Jesus Calling’ by Sarah Young

My children make a pastime of judging one another – and themselves.  But I am the only capable Judge, and I have acquitted you through My own blood.  Your acquittal came at the price of My unparalleled sacrifice.  That is why I am highly offended when I hear My children judge one another or indulge in self-hatred.

If you live close to Me and absorb My Word, the Holy Spirit will guide and correct you as needed.  There is no condemnation for those who belong to Me.

Luke 6:37 – “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.  Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you.  Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.”

Evaluating your worth on the basis of how you look, to yourself or to others, is always a trap – it’s as if you are sifting sand, looking only at the grains of sand filtering through the sieve, ignoring the gold nuggets that remain.  My approval of you is based entirely on My righteousness, which is yours for all eternity.  When you look in a mirror, try to see yourself as you truly are – arrayed in perfect righteousness, adorned in glowing approval.

Isaiah 61:10 – “I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!  For He has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness.  I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels.”

Food for Thought:  Measure your worth by what is eternal: the ‘gold’ of a well-nurtured soul that rests in My unfailing Love.

Binding and Loosing

Matthew 18:18-19 – The Prayer of Binding and Loosing; the Prayer of Agreement

 

Jesus said in Matthew 12:29, “Or else how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.” When praying over a situation or a person, first bind the strong man (the devil) behind the situation causing the trouble or driving the person. Bind the devil off the person. We don’t wrestle against flesh and blood (2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 6:12; 2 Timothy 2:25-26). Our true enemy, the real troublemaker, is the devil (John 10:10).

When someone comes across your mind or The Lord prompts you to pray for someone, for example, stop what you are doing and say, “Satan, in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, you devil operating in the life of (or against) ____________, according to Matthew 18:18, I bind you in your operations in his or her life. I demand you stop your maneuvers today. Jesus gave me His authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all your power (Mark 16:17; Luke 10:19). You loose ____________, and let him (or her) go!”

If the person has not yet made Jesus Lord of his or her life, pray, “Now Lord, I ask You to send laborers across ____________’s path, according to Your Word in Matthew 9:38. You know who ____________ will listen to. Open ____________’s ears to hear, eyes to see, and heart to understand what the Holy Spirit is saying to him (or her). I believe I receive it done, in the Name of Jesus.” Keep your faith strong in what you prayed, based on The Word of God. Every thought or negative bit of news that seems contrary to what you just prayed, cast down (2 Corinthians 10:5) in the Name of Jesus, and begin to thank and praise God that His Word is true and coming to pass in the life of the person for whom you prayed. Wherever you see the devil stealing, killing, or destroying (John 10:10), you can stop his activities with the prayer of binding and loosing.

You can do the same in the area of your finances. If you are a tither and giver, Malachi 3:11 says the devourer is rebuked, and command him to take his hands off your finances. Loose God’s ministering spirits to go and bring in your harvest (Hebrews 1:14). Praise and thank The Lord continually that He supplies your every need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

The bottom line is to base your prayer on The Word of God and the Name of Jesus. God’s Word is His will, and it is in His Name that every knee shall bow (Romans 14:11).   Jesus is The Word made flesh. He is the One who went to the Cross and into the regions of the damned, annihilating the devil and all his demons. He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it (Colossians 2:14-15). In His Name is the power, and He has given the power of attorney to use His Name to every believer (Mark 16:17). With confidence in His Name, which is above every name, be bold to step out and speak it in faith to deliver all who are oppressed by the devil (Mark 16:17-18).

Whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven. This is not referring to the heaven where God dwells, but to the atmospheric heaven. Satan has already been cast out of God’s presence (Isaiah 14:12; Luke 10:17-18). This is referring to the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2), the wicked spirits in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). God has delegated His authority to believers to bind the devil and his activities in the earth, just as He did. After Jesus rose from the dead and was about to ascend into heaven to take His place at the right hand of God, He said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. (You) go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18-19). In other words, He told believers to go into all the world, take His power and His Name, and do what He did – and greater (John 14:12). In fact, in Mark 16 He spoke of the signs that would follow believers who dared to use the power of His Name: “These signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents; if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (verses 17-18).

Then in Matthew 18:19, speaking of agreement prayer, Jesus adds even further power to the prayer of binding and loosing: “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by My Father who is in heaven”. The very power of the risen Lord and the authority of His Name, together with the operation of the Holy Spirit guaranteed by the new covenant, is operative when you and I set ourselves in agreement. When we use the power of agreement prayer and bind satan, coming against him in the Name of Jesus and with The Word of the living God, it will be done on earth as it is in heaven. But we must be diligent to keep our agreement faith on it.

The prayer of binding and loosing and the prayer of agreement are two of God’s power tools to keep the devil under our feet as we fulfill God’s plans, purposes, and pursuits on the earth.

Spirit of Infirmity

I speak to you, spirit of infirmity, in the mighty Name of Jesus Christ.

I command you by the authority given unto me by our Lord Jesus Christ, get out of __________.  Loose his body.

I bind you and I cast you into the lake of fire. The Bible says in Matthew 16:19 that Jesus said “I give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and what we loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

I rebuke you, spirit of infirmity, I denounce you, I renounce you in the mighty Name of Jesus. I disassociate you with __________.

I call unto the fire of God to burn into ashes the spirit of infirmity back to its roots never to be evidence of its existence. I call unto the fire of God to burn any evil altar erected with __________’s name on it. Holy Ghost fire, burn any traces of the work of the devil concerning __________’s life in the mighty Name of Jesus Christ.

The Bible says in Isaiah 65:22 that __________ shall live to enjoy the work of his hands. Psalms 118:7 says __________ shall not die but live to proclaim the goodness of the Lord.

Almighty God, in the mighty Name of Jesus Christ, I pray that you may back me up for the Bible says in Psalms 91:16 that with long life will you satisfy __________ and show him your Salvation.

The devil is a liar, the God that I serve has promised that __________ will not die young. I believe my God, devil, not you.

The Bible says in Isaiah 54:17 that no weapons formed against my family shall prosper and every tongue that rises up against my family in Judgment, I will condemn. I therefore, based on that scripture condemn you, spirit of sickness and disease, in the mighty Name of Jesus Christ.

I cast you into the lake of fire. Go and do not come back in the mighty Name of Jesus Christ. I surround __________ with the Hedge of fire.

I cover him with the blood of Jesus Christ – the Blood of Calvary, the Blood of the Lamb that was slain. Let every organ in his body soak in the blood of Jesus Christ from the top of his head to the sole of his feet.

Back me up Father God like you backed up Elijah when he called unto you to show the prophets of baal that you are God. Back me up Jehovah God of Israel. You hold all the power and might.

The Bible says in Psalms 27:1 that you are my light and my Salvation whom shall I fear. You are the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid.

Greater is He that is with ___________ than he that is in the world.

Almighty God I pray that you may send your unseen forces to watch over __________ everyday. You are called Jehovah Rapha God our Healer. Your power is great. You are awesome in power. ___________’s healing is to the praise and glory of your Name. I pray this in the mighty Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.   Amen and Amen

Faith P.

(Fill in the blank spaces with the person’s name you are praying for.)

Eretz Yisrael – The Supremacy of the Land

     “Whoever lives in Eretz Yisrael is like one who has a God, and whoever lives outside the Land is like one who has no God (Kesuvos 110b).”

I.  The Perception of Holiness

The universe is full of God’s glory. Everything proclaims it from the mightiest galaxy to the frailest blade of grass to the sub-microscopic organism. Can one even imagine that God is limited to the Temple Mount or the Holy Land? But human beings are trapped in a material world that obscures His existence and they must grope to find traces and rays of the holiness that is everywhere.

So.. where is God? He is everywhere, but some people see and others don’t. And some places more readily provide the spiritual illumination for those who wish to see.

Of all the countries on earth, Eretz Yisrael is uniquely suited to the perception of holiness. Whoever lives outside Eretz Yisrael is ‘like’ one who has no God. Lacking the holy atmosphere of the Land, the conditions created by God to serve as the habitat for His Temple and His prophets, a person may fail to see the Godliness in every aspect of his existence.

This is what our Sages mean when they say that one who lives in Eretz Yisrael is ‘like’ one who has a God, but one who lives outside the Land is ‘like’ one who is Godless. The key word is ‘like’. Both have a God. Every person has a God and He is everywhere. But there is a place where He is easily accessible to all who seek, a place where, because people find Him, He is present. That place is the Land whose very atmosphere conveys the wisdom of fear of God, whose hills and valleys echo with the footsteps of the Patriarchs, the words of the prophets – the handiwork of Him Who said, ‘Let there be a universe.’ One who lives in Eretz Yisrael and allows his spiritual eyes to remain open – sees; one who lives outside the Land denies himself that unique perception. Compared to the one who basks in its holiness and sees the hand of God caressing every blade of grass and infusing every thought, he is ‘like’ one who has no God.

Every huiman being was created with his own set of talents and handcaps, they are the tools give him to carry out his spiritual mission. His measure of potential is uniquely his, it is the measure of holiness which he was created to reveal and thus contribute to the fulfillment of the universe. Since Eretz Yisrael is symbolic of the recognition of God, every Jew has a share in Eretz Yisrael. For, in essence, Eretz Yisrael is not a geographical entity; its mountains and valleys, plains and seas, are but the physical manifestations of its spiritual being. It is a Holy Land because it is a Land of Holiness. Every Jew is charged with bring to fruition his portion of holiness, his own Eretz Yisrael, wherever on earth he lives. Therefore, our Sages taught the legal principle that “There is no man who does not have four cubits in Eretz Yisrael (Bava Basra 44b).

Even the Jew who has never set foot in Eretz Yisrael, much less purchased a lot of its land, is considered the owner of four cubits (the minimum amount of space in which a person can function)(Bava Mezia 10a). The Sages understood that if the Jew can only attain his highest level of spiritual attainment in Eretz Yisrael, then it is inconceivable that part of the Land is not his. This being so, the principle that the Holy Land allows the Jew to develop his spiritual capacities to their maximum dictates that every Jew have his share in Eretz Yisrael. And because each person is an individual with a potential like no other, his own four cubits are his, and none other’s. Exactly where in Eretz Yisrael those particular square inches are does not matter – they are his!

Understood this way, much that the Sages have taught takes on deeper significance and meaning. Over the course of his lifetime, man is presented with many opportunities. Each is a test.

The person raised to a new position enters a new realm of responsibility and judgment. The old standards no longer apply. If he rises to the occasion with a new sense of dedication and the prayer that he not fall short of the challenge presented him, then he indeed merits that his earlier sins be forgiven. His new position was the cause of repentance. His old world disappeared when he was elevated to a new dimension of responsibility. The first accomplishment of the new mantle was to change the person upon whom it fell. He has changed, grown, repented – and so his sins are forgiven.

But if he fails to discharge his new responsibilities properly, he is held responsible for the lack of accomplishment that resulted from his negligence. The emperor who fiddles while his city burns is not judged by the quality of his concerto. He is held responsible for the destruction of homes and the ruin of lives, and for the tragedy of human resources squandered on the clearing of rubble when they could have been building palaces.

He who was granted the privilege of living in Eretz Yisrael has the challenge of utilizing the capacity it provides him for spiritual growth. Being there is a challenge, and like all challenges, it carries with it the possibility of success – or failure. As in all matters of the spirit, God provides an even balance. Opportunity is equal with pitfall. The enormous good that can be done by one who is elevated to greatness – good of such enormity that it can wipe away his sins and set him in a new world – is balanced by the evil that becomes his responsibility if he fails to meet the challenge – or if he misuses his new power.

Rav Saadia Gaon says that Israel without Torah, is like a body without a soul; we may say the same of Eretz Yisrael: without the observance of the commandments, it, too, is like a body without a soul. But when it is host to a people that obeys the word of God, the potential of the Land is unlimited.

The Khuzari goes on to portray the greatness of the Land. Every prophet prophesied either in it or concerning it – otherwise, no matter how great the person, he could not hear the world of God. Cain and Abel contended over Eretz Yisrael; the brother chosen by God would gain the gift of prophesy and possession of the Land, the other would be subservient to him like the shell of a fruit. And when Cain, murderer of his brother, was banished from the Presence of Hashem (4:16), it was from Eretz Yisrael that he was forced to go, for God’s Presence is in His Chosen Land. Ishmael’s strife with Isaac was over the same inheritance, and so was Esau’s with Jacob. In Eretz Yisrael the Patriarchs erected their altars, and there God heard their prayers. Atop its Mount Moriah Abraham bound his son to the altar, the same mountain where David built an altar and where the Holy Temple stood and will stand again. And just as a farmer who finds a lovely tree in the wilderness will tenderly dig it up and transplant it in his finest soil, so too, when God found a treasure in Ur Kasdim and Charan, he brought him to Eretz Yisrael, tested him, found him worthy, sealed a covenant with him, made him father of His chosen nation, and gave him a new name, Abraham. Great though he was, even Abraham could not achieve fulfillment until he was brought to Eretz Yisrael.

II.  The Unforgiving Land

Because Eretz Yisrael is so saturated with holiness, it demands higher standards of behavior than does any other corner of earth. Just as Israel’s nature is unlike that of any other people, so the nature of its Land is unlike that of any other. Ramban deals at length with this phenomenon. The following exposition is taken almost in its entirety from his commentary to Leviticus 18:25.

After citing the full catalog of forbidden immorality (Leviticus 18:1-24), the Torah strongly urged Israel not to defile itself with these offenses, for the Canaanite inhabitants of the Land had done so with the result that “The Land became impure, and I recalled its sin for it and the Land vomited out its inhabitants” (verse 25).

Israel was warned not to imitate the Canaanite abominations lest it too defile the land and be vomited out by it (verses 26-30). The verses are truly striking. Israel is warned against immorality not merely because it defiles Israel’s own holy nature and deviates its mission as the Chosen People of God, it cannot abide immoral inhabitants and because the Land will expel immoral inhabitants just as they body vomits putrid food. The implication is clear – sin is forbidden everywhere, but in the Eretz Yisrael it is worse.

The same is true of Israel, the nation. Israel is judged by a double standard. It is God’s nation and He demands more of it. It cannot complain that it is judged more harshly than the nations for the same sins for its greatness demands that it adhere to higher standards than they. By the same token, its rewards for fulfilling its obligations as the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as the nation that stood at Sinai and accepted the Torah, are higher – no! they are of an entirely different order – than those of any other nation no matter how pious and noble it may be. For the Land and the Nation share one unique characteristic – they are the special province of God.

The Patriarchs recognized this connection. Their souls were so attuned to holiness that they could sense the affect of every deed. They knew that upon arising in the morning, one must accept upon himself the yoke of God’s kingdom, that different species were not to be mixed, that work was not to be done on Sabbath, that certain marriages were incestuous. They complied with the entire Torah before it was given to Israel.

Israel was commanded, exhorted, and warned to be moral in it’s Land. The expulsion of the Canaanites was not in punishment for their immorality. Egypt, too, was immoral, and Israel was instructed to avoid their lack of moral restraints which were no less than those of Canaan (Leviticus 18:3). But no matter how much the immorality of Egypt may have been a factor in the plagues and punishment, its land did not vomit out sinners. Only Eretz Yisrael did that.

The fate of the seven nations of Caanan was sealed long before Joshua’s armies carried out God’s command to decimate them. They had long since been doomed: the Torah says, the Land vomited (past tense) its inhabitants (Leviticus 18:25). Their immorality had condemned them; Israel was but the vehicle to carry out the decree. Had it not been Israel’s time to enter its Promised Land, we may be certain that some other nation would have driven out the Canaanites. It was the Land that could not endure them, just as the Land would expel sinful Israel from its midst in the tragic days of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. For the Land of Israel on earth and Jerusalem on earth are reflections of Eretz Yisrael and Jerusalem on high. They are not geographical points on a map, but physical manifestations of spiritual levels. One does not commit immoral acts in heaven; one does not commit immoral acts on heaven on earth.

The entire story of creation is beyond human comprehension. After reading the story of the first week of human history can we claim even a vague understanding of the process by which a vacuum was transformed into the universe? Nevertheless, God gave us the Torah, including the narrative of creation, and the succeeding story of mankind’s sins, punishments, conquests, migrations, and most importantly, the story of Abraham and his offspring. The entire Book of Genesis and the first eleven chapters of Exodus, fully sisty-one chapters in a Book, where every word, letter, and even the ‘crowns of letters’ are dissected for meaning and interpretation – all of this was transmitted to man only to make unmistakably clear that the Master of the Universe destined a corner of His creation for His nation. In early times it might be occupied by the Canaanites and Emorites. Later it would become the conquest of Babylonians, Romans. Moslems, Christians, Arabs, Turks, Britons. The catalogue of conquerors could be long and varied, but the Owner of the Land remains He Who created it. It was He alone Who could determine its destiny, and in His Torah He made clear that it would be the possession of Israel and none other.

A not insignificant measure of Israel’s tragic history is how much of its existence has been spent exiled from its Land. The nineteen centuries of the current exile alone are longer than the total number of years that Israel was true sovereign of all its Land. But even during the bitterest years of exile, there was no more eloquent testimony to Israel’s eternal ownership of that slim strip of heaven on earth than the Land itself – the very Land that had banished, regurgitated, Israel as unworthy of its sanctity – that very Land testified that Israel is the single nation on earth that can claim title to its hills and valleys. “And I will lay the Land waste, and upon it, your enemies who inhabit it will be desolate” (Leviticus 26:32).

The Land that expelled Israel would welcome none other. Your enemies will inhabit your Land, but they will be desolate upon it. The Land that flowed with milk and honey for Israel would become dry and bitter. Valleys that were lush, plains that were green, would turn to wasteland and desert. No nation would find prosperity there. The grieving Land would wrap itself tight in its mourning shroud and refuse to nurse the children that came to replace her own. She would weep and wait.

No nation has ever succeeded in Eretz Yisrael – except for the Jews. The reason is clearly given by the Torah: the Land is Israel’s. For Israel it will flow with milk and honey. Let Israel fall short of its mandate, and the Land will expel it, but even when that happens, it will withhold its blessings from any other claimant.

Abraham could not even receive God’s blessings and covenant until he was in Eretz Yisrael. While he was still a resident of Charan at the age of seventy, he made a brief trip to Eretz Yisrael where God appeared to him and made the Covenant Between the Pieces. Abraham returned to his father’s home and was not bidden to make the final break with his past until five years later when he was commanded to go to the land which God would show him. Despite his already proven greatness, Abraham could not even receive God’s promise anywhere but in the Holy Land, much less begin the long process of laying the foundation for the Chosen People.

Indeed, the first time Abraham journeyed to Eretz Yisrael, he was not bidden by God to do so. He himself perceived the holiness of the Land and wished to be in it. Later, when God bid him to break with his homeland and family and travel ‘to the land which I will show you’ (12:1), Abraham immediately set out for Eretz Yisrael; he knew that it was God’s country and he believed implicitly that God could have meant no other place.

There is a way, albeit an imperfect one, to experience the exaltation of the Land even though one cannot be within it. The firm resolve to live as holy a life as humanly possible and the strong desire to live it as if one were truly on the sacred soil can be considered in some measure equivalent to being there. May this inspiring thought help elevate our thoughts and deeds until the time when hope and reality merge.

It Is Finished!

They are the three most important words you will ever read….

  • Three words that broke the power of sin in your life.
  • Three words that freed you from every bondage.
  • Three words that brought you into a new covenant with God.

If you’ve ever felt like you’ve got to try harder or do better to please God, I want you to get these three words into your spirit today:  IT IS FINISHED.

In John 19:30, these are the words Jesus cried out on the cross..and He cried them out for you!

Because you’ve received the Lord and His finished work at the cross, there is now no more working to earn God’s favor.  No more sacrifices and rituals.  No more separation between you and God.

Jesus did the work neither you nor I could ever do.  His sacrifice guaranteed our righteousness before the Father.

  • His work is sufficient!
  • His work is a gift!
  • His work is finished!

So why do we still struggle with guilt and condemnation?  Why do we still try to earn our right standing with God?

Imagine this scenario with me…  Let’s say you have a service come and clean your house.  They clean each room from floor to ceiling.  Dusting, vacuuming, cleaning windows, scrubbing every corner and countertop – they clean it all.

Now, when they leave after their work is done, if you get out your scrub brushes and begin cleaning again, there can only be one reason … You didn’t think their work was good enough.  It wasn’t sufficient.

This is what man’s attempt at righteousness looks like.  When we try to clean ourselves up, when we try to be our own righteousness, we are saying the work Jesus did wasn’t good enough – that it wasn’t sufficient.

Rather than looking to yourself, look to Jesus.  Rather than trying harder rest in His sacrifice.

Jesus did the work.  You are accepted and approved before God.  His is sufficient.

Second Corinthians 5:21 tell us this:  “For (God) made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Notice where your righteousness comes from…it comes from being in Christ.

It’s not in your efforts.  It’s not in your abilities.  It’s not dependent upon your successes or your failures.

The perfect, finished work of Jesus had made you righteous!

And because of His finished work…  You can reign over addictions.  You have health and wholeness in Him.  You can walk in divine wisdom and favor.  You are forever accepted and approved before the Father.

This is not telling us to be lazy and do nothing.  But as you continue to fulfill your daily responsibilities, know that these blessings (and so many others) come as a result of you resting in Jesus’ sacrifice.

His shed blood speaks total forgiveness, righteousness, favor, healing, and peace for you!

Joseph Prince Ministries

To Make Jesus the Lord of Your Life

Do you know where you stand with God?

If you have never made Jesus the Lord of your life, then you are separated from God through sin.  God loves you so much He gave His only begotten Son for you.  You are the reason He sent Jesus to the cross.  John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” Second Corinthians 5:21 says God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us.  Jesus is the spotless Son of God.  He knew no sin, but God made Him to be sin for us.  Sin was the reason Jesus came to earth.  He died on Calvary’s Cross and went to hell for one reason: to pay the price for your and my sin.  Once that price was paid, Jesus was raised from the dead, triumphant over satan, and the sin problem was forever taken care of.

God is not holding your sin against you.  He sent Jesus to the cross as your substitute, He paid the sin debt.  He became sin for you so you could become His righteousness.  Now you can receive the credit for what He did in your place (Isaiah 53:3-5).

The price has been paid, but it’s not automatic.  You must choose to accept what He did for you and receive Him as your personal Savior and LORD.  If you have never done so, choose Him now.  Repent of your sin (turn totally from it) and pray this prayer.  When you do, the power of God will make you a new creation in Christ Jesus.

“Heavenly Father, in the Name of Jesus, I present myself to You.  I pray and ask Jesus to be LORD over my life.  I believe it in my heart, so I say with my mouth that Jesus has been raised from the dead.  This moment I make Him The LORD over my life.  Jesus, come into my heart.  I believe this moment that I am saved.  I say it now: I am reborn.  I am a Christian.  I am a child of the Almighty God!.  Thank you, Jesus.”

To further research the bible on this, read: John 1:12; 3:16; 6:37; 10:10; 14:6; 16:8-9; Romans 3:23; 5:8; 10:9-10, 13; 2 Corinthians 5:17, 19, 21

The Tests

     “Our father Abraham was tested with ten trials and he withstood them all, demonstrated how great was Abraham’s love (for God) (Avos 5:3).”

I.  Purpose of Trials

What is the purpose of a trial?

God knows what a person will and will not do. He knows a person’s capabilities. Further, the Sages teach that a person is never tested beyond his capabilities: the implication is that a divine test is inflicted only upon people of already proven greatness. Clearly, God inflicts trials for a purpose that goes far beyond one’s normal life-experience. The businessman who takes a crushing loss or forgoes a huge profit because he, and no one else, knows that the profitable course of action will violate an obscure clause in the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law), will surely be rewarded. He is to be admired, respected, and emulated; but his temptation and triumph do not fall within the category of ‘trial’ which was the lot of the Patriarchs. Abraham, for example, was an immensely wealthy man who surely had business dealings of all varieties. He had as much opportunity as the next man for sharp dealing, even dishonesty; yet such matters are not included among his ten trials. The concept of ‘trial’ as used with relation to the Patriarchs goes infinitely deeper than the mere need to cope with the normal twists and challenges of life.

King David was told that he was inferior to the spiritual level of the Patriarchs because they had been tested while he had not been. Yet the agony of David’s life is graphically and poignantly portrayed in the Book of Samuel, the verses of Psalms, the countless heart-rending Aggadic references to his history. We may well pray that we not face even a fraction of David’s trials – yet his challenges were not considered, trials, in the sense of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s. (Sanhedrin 107a). If David’s life was not a series of tests, than the Torah’s definition of ‘trial’ surely involves more than the clichés of normal existence.

Ramban in introducing Abraham’s climactic trial, the Akeidah of Isaac (see commentaries of chapter 22), explains that the trial is not for God’s benefit, in the sense that a teacher may administer a test to evaluate the performances of a student. That sort of test is for the benefit of the teacher, but God’s test is for the benefit of the person being tested. God already knows what he can and will do. A human being’s primary reward is not for good potential and fine intentions. This world was created to serve as the medium for human free-willed performance, and God’s reward and punishment are reserved primarily for deeds. Just as a person is not punished for a sin he was coerced to do since the lack of free will on his part renders the act null and void in terms of transgression, so too, a good but unfulfilled intention is hardly equivalent to a deed performed. Thus, when God puts a great man to the test, it is in order to permit him to translate potential into reality so that he becomes even greater for having overcome obstacles in the service of God and so that he can be rewarded for the performance itself.

  • Know that Hashem tests (only) the righteous; when he knows that the Tzaddik will do His will and He wishes to benefit him, He will command him (to undergo) the trial. But He will not test the wicked who will not obey. Behold, therefore, that all trials in the Torah are for the benefit of the one being tested. (Ramban 22:1)

Sforno adds that God wants the righteous to demonstrate in deed their love for and fear of God, for by translating their feelings into action they emulate God Himself Whose merciful deeds are continuing and endless. By realizing their great potential, the righteous fulfill the purpose of creation – which was that man should emulate God as much as possible.

As many commentators note, the word trial, is related to a banner, which was raised up high. The purpose of a trial is not to test in the usual sense of the word – and most assuredly it is not intended as a trap for the inadequate; if it were, the wicked would be tested – rather the trial is meant to ‘raise up’ the righteous by lifting them to new spiritual heights. Every person has observed countless times that someone who successfully survived the crucible of difficult experience emerges a better person. The lecturer, teacher, cook, mechanic, driver – no matter what field, the one who turns theory into practice in difficult situations becomes a superior master of his craft. Great though Abraham already was, he became greater with each triumphant surmounting of a new trial. This, indeed, was the purpose of a trial – not to prove to God what He already knew, but to raise the subject to new heights just as a banner is lifted higher and higher on its pole.

As Abarbanel notes, a banner has other functions as well. It is meant to be an affirmation of identity, to hold the loyalties of its adherents, and to warn enemies to maintain their distance. Who would have known what the Patriarchs were capable of doing had they not been tested? And once they emerged as God’s proven champions, they became ‘banners’ proclaiming to all the world that human beings are capable of attaining heights exalted beyond prior imagination. And if mortals could accomplish so much, then why shouldn’t everyone aspire to reach above his imagined limitations? As our Sages taught, a person should always say, “When will my deeds touch the deeds of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?”

Maharal (Avos 5:3) derives ‘trial’ from ‘miracle The nature of a miracle is that it is supernatural. That the Patriarchs could withstand the trials imposed upon them was entirely miraculous. Human beings should not have succeeded. That is why David failed when at his insistence, he was tested with the temptation of Bathsheba (Sanhedrin 107a). Yet the trials of the Patriarchs, though surely difficult, do not seem to us to be unendurable. Even the climatic trial, the Akiedah, however awesome, has not gone unduplicated. How many Jewish parents have sacrificed everything to sanctify God’s Name? But, as we shall now see, even that awesome degree of devotion is a direct result of Abraham’s readiness to sacrifice even Isaac.

II.  The Nation is Formed

As explained in the Overview of the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were not limited to themselves as individuals. Rather, they set patterns that became part of the national grain. Clearly, the character traits of the Patriarchs were engraved in the national genes, so to speak – this, too, was part of the process of forming a profound and ever lasting influence so that the deeds of the Patriarchs were a sign for the children.

Rabbi Chaim infers this principle from the words of the Mishnah. In telling of the ten failed generations from Noah to Abraham, the Mishnah does not refer to Abraham, our Father (Avos 5:2-3). The inference to be drawn is that the trials endured by Abraham were part of the patrimony he bequeathed to his children. He endured them as the Father of the nation, not as a great and righteous individual.

As King Solomon wrote, “When a tzaddik proceeds in his wholesomeness, praises go to his children after him. (Proverbs 20:7). Many are the traits that a tzaddik acquires only through the hard, unremitting labor of character perfection – by conquering the most unforgiving of enemies: himself! But to his children after him, they are second nature.

When the Sages insist that we take as models the deeds of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they urge an attainable goal. Not, of course, that any of us can actually become even remotely as great as they were, but that our deeds can ‘touch’ theirs, because our deeds grow out of the seeds they planted just as we, ourselves, are their offspring. We need not fear the challenge of greatness because the ground has been broken by the Patriarchs and we are blossoms of their tree.

The trials of the Patriarchs were branded indelibly into Israel’s character that faith comes above life, and that if death must come, it will be accepted with invigorated faith in God because it is but a trial that will raise us like a banner proclaiming that we are children of Abraham. It remains with us and became part of us because God imposed it and the Patriarchs survived it in order to chisel a new trait into the eternity of Israel.

Abraham could have protested. But did not…He did not question or complain. Whatever God willed was good, and if he did not understand why, the deficiency was his. Only the wicked who have earned adversity complain when it comes. The righteous do not complain for they know that human affairs are guided by an Intelligence higher than theirs and by a Compassion unfathomable even to an Abraham.

III. The Cycle of Ten

Chapter five of Avos lists a series of historical phenomena that are numbeed in sets of ten. God created the universe with ten utterances, there were ten generations from Adam to Noah, another ten from Noah to Abraham, the ten trials of Abraham and so on. Ten denotes perfection – represents a development from beginning to completion.

As we have seen in the previous Overview of the Patriarchs, Abraham replaced Adam as the spiritual father of humanity, the one through whom God’s purpose in the universe would be realized and through whom Israel would become the nation selected to receive the Torah. The ideal order of creation began with the realization created by the first utterance: In the Beginning. That utterance was the clear indication that before God began His creative labor there was nothing save for God Himself. Thus, In the Beginning represents the realization that every facet of existence stemmed from His word and will.

From that initial realization, creation went from stage to stage until it reached its culmination with the creation of man whose task it was to bring God’s word into even the minutest aspect of the world. When man was created, however, everything with all its potential of beclouding his senses and obscuring the source of it all was already in place. If mankind knew Who spoke the first utterance, then each succeeding stage represented a further glorification of the One Who could create an universal so multi-faceted. If, however, man saw before him a universe without God, then each succeeding step in creation further obscured the Source. In order for him to comprehend the message of the Ten Utterances, he would have to start from the lowest stage of spiritual recognition and work his way upward. Only after having dismissed each succeeding level of obscurity could he stand at the summit of his spiritual potential and proclaim that God is Master of the universe.

When Abraham began his life of recognizing and proclaiming God, man had fallen from the understanding of creation through two successive ten-generation plunges into the spiritual abyss. The Ten Trials were designed to raise Abraham to ever higher levels of greatness until he stood at the level of ‘In the Beginning’.

The first test was in Ur Kasdim where he defied the institutionalized idolatry of Nimrod’s kingdom and thereby became an enemy of the people. Abraham’s first trial involved a courageous stand – he refused to demean himself by worshipping man’s own handiwork as his god.

Thereby, he proclaimed his humanity, for a man who denies the existence of God forfeits his right to God’s protection and His gifts of life and breath. How can man ever hope to rise above the animal if he fails to acknowledge the sovereignty of his Maker, the source of all spiritual growth? Therefore, Abraham’s first trial established his recognition of the last utterance of creation: ‘Let Us Make Man’. For, indeed, Abraham merited the mantle of Adam.

The eighth trial was circumcision. The surplusage (foreskin) hiding the perfection of man is a barrier to his spiritual advancement. Such barriers must be removed by man and his life must be dedicated to the continued prevention of mundane forces from diluting his spiritual potential. By circumcising himself, Abraham removed from himself the material encumbrance which stood in the way of his spiritual advancement and his attainment of perfection.

The ninth trial was the expulsion of his first-born son Ishmael, together with Hagar. Sarah saw with her superior vision, Ishmael presented a danger to the emergence of Israel, and God instructed Abraham to heed her demand for his expulsion. The second utterance was ‘Let There Be Light’. Ishmael’s presence would have extinguished the merging light of Isaac. By preserving and nurturing that light, Abraham and Sarah attained the level of authentic spiritual light, the light of Torah that illuminates more than do a thousand suns.

The final trial, the AkiedahYitzchak (the Binding of Isaac) brought Abraham to the peak of his fulfillment. He could advance no higher. God said to him, Now I know that you are God-fearing (22:12), for he had been ready to comply with God’s will even if it meant the slaughter of his most cherished possession – the son for whom he had waited so long and who was the guarantor of his future. This recognition that everything was God’s and that nothing stood higher than His will was the living acknowledgment that In the Beginning there was nothing except for Him and that therefore, even after the creation and elaborate development of the universe, there is still nothing except for His will.

IV.  Individual Trials

Everyone’s trial varies according to what he is. For someone to follow his instincts and preferences proves only whether or not his instincts are sound, but it does not prove that his love of God is great enough to lift him above his person desires.

Many of Abraham’s trials involved behavior which ran counter to his generous personality or which would have driven people away from his company. From this perspective we see a new dimension in many of the trials. The command of “Get yourself from your land (12:1), can be seen as a break with family and past, never an easy thing to do for a man of seventy-five. However, it would have been far less difficult for a gevurah-person like Isaac. Abraham had already established a chesed way of life in Charan. He had become a center of spiritual activity; his students numbered in the hundreds and those upon whom he had at least some influence probably ran into the thousands. Now he was to leave the place where he was established and become a stranger in a new land with new customs where he would be forced to begin life anew and develop a network of relationships in order to spread God’s message again. And he was acting cruelly toward his aged father, deserting him at a period in life where he would be needed more rather than less.

The command to dispatch Hagar when she was pregnant, and again later to expel her with Ishmael ran counter to his innermost instincts and the chesed way of service which had become synonymous with his name. How could he drive out people who were part of him, who were dear to him, who were dependent on him and helpless without him?

It is inadequate to see this only in human terms. Abraham had based his service of God on the principle of kindness. How could he reconcile this with cruelty? Circumcision, too, was an act, he feared, that would drive people away from him. The people would consider it bizarre and abnormal. They would sever their relationships with him. The Akiedah, because it was climactic, the greatest of the trials, was also the most complex and difficult of all.   (More of this will be discussed in an overview of the Akeidah)

There is a further aspect of a trial. We know that there are two sides to every story and we have learned, especially in modern times, that an appealing argument can be made for almost any point of view or course of action.

The most ‘irrational’ behavior may be bizarre to the beholder, but the doer may easily consider it proper and even imperative. He may be able to gather up such an overwhelming array of justifications that it may seem useless to engage in discussion much less dispute. Unfortunately, people muster enormous powers of self-deception and rationalization in defense of a course that, once undertaken, must be made to seem logical.

The Patriarchs were not permitted this fallacy. Part of the trial was that Abraham not indulge in the luxury of justifying the required course of action. And Abram went as Hashem told him (12:4): He did not think of the blessings and assurances which God had given him. If Abraham had done that, his obedience would have been selfish. All those thoughts he drove from his mind. He complied with God’s word only because it was God’s will. So it was with every trial, he obeyed because God willed it, not because he understood.

We are part of a tradition. Israel is an old nation whose succeeding generations have laid brick upon brick, but all the bricks are laid atop the foundation that was poured by the Patriarchs. Our reactions to events and sense of national responsibility are predicated upon the lessons of the Torah and the experience of our history. But the Patriarchs had no previously-transmitted Torah and no national experience. They were the originals. They created tradition. They shaped experience. The very title ‘Fathers’, tells what they were. They were our founders and we carry on their mission.

The nature of the trials, and the performance and motives of the Patriarchs in rising to meet them – formed the national character. All the noble strains of intense faith and spiritual exaltation that have ennobled Israel during its almost four thousand years, the determination which has maintained the nation throughout an exile that has far exceeded all its years of national tranquility and independence – these were molded in Ur Kasdim and on Mount Moriah, in Beer Sheba and Hebron, by unquestioning willingness to uproot families and bind children for a slaughter, by readiness to risk unpopularity and provoke hatred, by obeying God’s will even when the obedience seemed to be the direct cause of greater suffering, without doubting for an instant that it was the God of Mercy Who commanded all and a Supreme Intelligence that decreed every event in its minutest detail.

The ‘children’, from David of old to an embattled entrepreneur of today, who follow in those exalted footsteps of old are walking a path that was trodden for them by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Their manifestations of greatness had no precedent. And when they had finished molding Israel’s character, the period of Fathers ended and the period of children began.