From Cursed To Blessed
Study Text – Malachi 2:1-4
I know that there have been many, many people that have heard sermons in
which they thought the preacher was talking specifically about them. I can tell
you from experience that when you’re in that "hot seat" it seems the
preacher is holding a revival on that one transgression. Regardless of what it
is, he/she never seems to get off that subject. And while being convicted, the
guilty say a shallow "Amen" in an attempt to "throw" everybody
else off his/her "trail." Trust me, I’m not telling you what I think;
I’m telling you what I know — Been There and Done That!
In this week’s text we see six steps that can take an individual from being
cursed (not blessed) by God to being blessed. Within these steps we see how God
gives us, in this case the priests of Israel, ample opportunity to turn around
from the paths of destruction to become blessed.
(1) Communication
During this initial step, God will always provide a vessel of communication.
Sometimes it may be, as we mentioned earlier, a sermon or it may even be a
friend, a loved one or a complete stranger. In our text, the Lord Himself is
the vessel. He tells the priests, "And now, O ye priests, this commandment
is for you" (1st). Now the strange thing about humans is that if we don’t
get this type of direct warning, "Eddie you’d better listen; this warning
is for you," we tend to brush it off. We may say, "That was a
fluke," "It really wasn’t for me, " or "I wonder if that’s
a sign?" Yet, in this communication phase, God is opening the door so that
we will hear from Him. Unfortunately, instead of listening, we take up the
habit of shutting the door which will hinder us from hearing His voice
directly. So get out of the habit of wanting to hear just the good stuff. We
need the convicting messages also so that we can turn from our sinful ways.
(2) Commandment
Next, God will send His commandment which He wants us to follow. For the
priests, He told them, "If you do not listen, and if you do not set your
heart to honor my name" (2nd). Here God is telling them what to do:
LISTEN. They needed to listen, set their hearts right and change their way of
doing things. Our change begins with what we take into our spirits. So by sight
(what we see and READ — "Word of God, Word of God, Word of God") and
sound (messages from God — Sermons, Testimonies, etc.) we begin to walk in the
richness of God and prevent curses from coming.
(3) Consequences
Now if there are commandments then there will be consequences for breaking
those commandments. In the latter half of the 2nd verse the Lord tells the
priests that the consequence for their sin is a curse upon their blessings. We
all know that we can’t just go about life sinning without a possible cost. For
every ungodly action there is a cost to pay, even if we really don’t see that
cost. [See message: "The Hidden Cost of Sin" @
Http://eyon.aus.fsu.edu]
(4) Curses
We all knew that this one was coming. However, here is something that we may
not have known. Did you know that a person is cursed BEFORE the curse is
manifested? In other words, a person can be cursed in the supernatural realm
but those curses have not yet come forth in the natural (where we live) realm.
In the 2nd verse the Lord says, "I WILL curse your blessings: yea I HAVE
cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart." So for every sin
that we commit there is a curse involved (again, A Hidden Cost of Sin). Will
God remove that curse or reverse it? YES, YES, YES!!!! But only through
repentance. Let me repeat — REPENTANCE!!!! Not through that, "God forgive
me game."—You know, when a person decides to conveniently sin and then
say, "God forgive me" and then go on to sin again. Trust me, that IS
an improper offering to God — Been There & Done That Too!
Also we see that curses are not limited to one generation. The Lord tells the
priests, "Because of you, I will rebuke your seed;"(3rd) In the NIV
text the word seed is replaced with descendants. So now the priest’s
descendants are also going to pay for the priests’ disrespect of God, and the
price will be an awful one. The Lord tells them that He will spread dung upon
their faces, even the dung of their solemn feasts; and then they shall be taken
away with it on their faces. What is dung? Well it is the manure from an
animal. Now of course God isn’t going to physically place His Holy, Pure &
Perfect hands in manure. But what He is actually going to do is smite them so
low that the priests and their offspring will wind up with their faces in
manure. (Now if you can’t imagine being at rock bottom – this is it.) Some may
ask, "Would God actually do this? Well, the answer to this question leads
us to our fifth point — Confirmation.
(5) Confirmation
God will send the confirmation to show that this curse was used by Him
to straighten that person out. Usually this is the turning point in that
person’s life, and he/she will say, "O.K. Lord, I don’t want you to turn
your back on me. I want to be your child and get blessings and not
curses." In the 4th verse, the Lord says, "And ye shall KNOW that I
have sent this commandment unto you." Yes, they will know that the Lord
was there and this was not some mere coincidence. He allowed their punishment
for a greater reason – A new covenant.
(6) Covenant
The wonderful thing about God is that after the sinner has done all this wrong,
He is still ready to forgive and make a new covenant with the new man. In the
latter half of the 4th verse the Lord explains why He is reprimanding the
priests: "That my covenant might be with Levi." Now, the Covenant of
Levi was a priestly code which told the priests how to handle sacrifice,
ceremonies of ordination, and laws regarding legal purity. Any time God makes a
covenant He is bound to keep it. But the priests, with their ungodly behavior,
were not fulfilling their end of the covenant. Let’s remember the consequences
of not honoring the covenant—they would be taken away with dung on their
faces. But the Lord gave them another chance. He truly desired for them to
receive the blessings of "life and peace," so He reminded them that
they had to keep their end of the covenant through REVERENCE (profound awe,
respect and love for Him) (5th).
No matter where we are in our lives it is never too late to make a new and
stronger covenant with God. Notice that we didn’t say new or stronger; we said
NEW AND STRONGER covenant with God. Today, not next week nor even this Sunday,
but TODAY make your new commitment to God! Recommit your time, your talent and
your tithe to Him so that your seeds won’t be rebuked. Instead, make your
covenant so that He can break you off some of that Deuteronomy 28 – Check it
out!!!!
1: And it shall come to pass, if thou SHALT HEARKEN DILIGENTLY unto the
voice of the LORD thy God, to OBSERVE and TO DO ALL HIS COMMANDMENTS which I
command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all
nations of the earth:
2: And ALL THESE BLESSINGS SHALL COME ON THEE, AND OVERTAKE THEE, if thou shalt
hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
3: Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
4: Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the
fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
5: Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
6: Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when
thou goest out.
7: The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten
before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee
seven ways.
8: The LORD shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all
that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which
the LORD thy God giveth thee.
9: The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn
unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, and walk in
his ways.
10: And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of
the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.
11: And the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body,
and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land
which the LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
12: The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the
rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and
thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow.
13: And the LORD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be
above ONLY, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the
commandments of the LORD thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and
to do them:
14: And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this
day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
So right now let’s make our new covenant with God. Say it with me,
"Father, In the Name of Jesus, I make a new covenant with you–one in
which I will diligently seek you and serve you–one that I will make myself
HOLY unto you. I ask you, In the name Jesus, to prosper me Spiritually,
Physically, Mentally, and Financially — breaking the bonds and curses that
have been hindering me from your fullness. Help me to be your diligent child,
seeking first your kingdom and all its righteousness so that I may walk from
glory to even higher glory, and that I may experience the richness of you. Let
your Holy Spirit and your Son Jesus dwell in me so that you may manifest your
presence in me. Father, keep me in your good and perfect care all the days of
my life as I make this flesh, my body, your holy temple. In the name of Father,
The Son and the Holy Spirit change me into your new being to fulfill this new
covenant." AMEN!!!! AMEN!!!!! PRAISE GOD WE ARE WALKING IN VICTORY!!!!!
AMEN!!!!!
Go forth new Children of God because you’re Blessed!!!!!
