"For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. "The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; "but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. "Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; "and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. Deuteronomy 7:6-10
When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we enter into a covenant relationship with Him. From the scriptures we see God's promises for those who enter into this covenant as well as what He expects from man in order to uphold our part of the covenant. The key here is that it takes two to make and keep a covenant. Our salvation is not all on God neither is it all on us (He gave His Son, He forgives when we repent...). Although God is faithful to always meet His part of the covenant, man is not always faithful. When we disregard our part of the covenant we have made with God, the covenant has been broken.
We see in the Old Testament for a picture of how God handles those who break His covenants. First, He patiently gives time for repentance. He sends prophets with a word of warning for the people to turn back to Him. Then, if there is no repentance, He sends forth judgment. It is the same today with us. God extends grace to us to give us time to be conformed into the image of His Son, so that we may be spared His wrath. We can also see in the Old Testament that when Israel was in rebellion against God, he referred to them as adulterers. He uses the same terminology when referring to rebellious members of the church in the New Testament.
Looking in the New Testament, we see an important revelation from God about how he views covenants. He indicates that a covenant between a man and wife is to be honored (Matthew 19:8); however He also says that one can freely walk away from this agreement when adultery is present (Matthew 5:32). When we turn from God through disobedience and rebellion, He considers us adulterers. At that time we have chosen to break the covenant, thereby absolving God from His part of the covenant. Thankfully, due to God's grace and mercy, He does not immediately cast us away from Him in these times. However, if we refuse to repent and change, we place our very salvation in jeopardy for God’s word is unchanging:
But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. Jude 1:5
"Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. "And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality, and she did not repent. "Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. "I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works. Revelation 2:20-23
God has also promised in His word for those who are in covenant relationship with them that He will bless them and multiply them and bless the fruit of their labors and be with them where ever they go. He has promised to take away from them all sickness, and afflict them with none of the terrible diseases of the world but will lay them on all those who hate them! He has warned their enemies that they would be in danger of hell fire. His word is unchanging:
"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' "But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire. "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, "leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. "Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. "Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. Matthew 5:21-26
Many people are sick and poor not because God doesn’t love them but because they are living under God’s judgments for not reconciling with those whom they have offended. For God is a faithful God who not only keeps covenant with His trusting ones and blesses them but He also judges and deals with their enemies in the current time of life just like Jesus promised:
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. "Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.' "And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 'yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' " Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said. "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:1-8
It is a fact that the teaching of most denominations are not only against the Word of God but they fail to heed the words and teaching of Jesus about the reality that God will avenge His trusting ones speedily even in the current time of life. They fail to understand what Jesus taught that those who don’t abide in the vine shall be cut off and thrown into the fire to be burnt. God’s word is unchanging:
"If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. John 15:6-9
"When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. "Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. "Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation." Matthew 12:43-45
Those who cause the Holy Spirit to be grieved and to leave them just like He left Saul will find their state to be worst than before for seven other spirits more wicked than the first shall they enter and dwell there, in spite of the doctrine of demons of once saved always saved. There is no sickness and poverty in heaven and God is able to heal and prosper each and every one of His children. Yet God’s word is unchanging:
"For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns-broken cisterns that can hold no water. Jeremiah 2:13
The works of His hands are verity and justice; All His precepts are sure. Psalm 111:7
For with stammering lips and another tongue He will speak to this people, To whom He said, "This is the rest with which You may cause the weary to rest," And, "This is the refreshing"; Yet they would not hear. But the word of the LORD was to them, "Precept upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little," That they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught. Isaiah 28:10-13
Jesus Christ didn’t go around blessing every one but He did go around healing all those who were sick? It's hard for some sick people to believe God for their healing when they believe that God made him sick. If God makes people sick and also heals them, what’s left for the devil to do? When Jesus was here on earth, He healed the sick everywhere He went. Why would Jesus be healing the sick if God His Father was making them sick? The scripture says in 1 John 3:8 “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” Here the Bible clearly says that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, not to destroy the works of His Father. 1 Peter 2:24 says that Jesus died on the cross so we could live and He bore stripes on His body for our healing. Jesus accomplished His mission in victory. He conquered sickness and death for you and for me. James 5:15 says, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up.” In general, Satan destroys and brings sickness. Jesus heals and gives life. And the choice is ours.
Jesus also cursed the false ones and told them that their day of judgment was coming. ‘Woe to you’ doesn’t mean ‘Something good is going to happen to you?’ Rather it means trouble, affliction, hardship and distress is coming for Jesus warned all men that they would reap whatever the sowed. As a result some would be blessed and others would be cursed for God’s word is unchanging:
"Judge not, that you be not judged. "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Matthew 7:1-5
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! "See! Your house is left to you desolate; "for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' " Matthew 23:27-39
http://billyburke.org/PrayerMinistryRoom/JourneyofYourPrayerRequest/tabid/142/Default.aspx
EXTRACT FROM Called To Inherit A Blessing
http://walthope.tripod.com/called.htm
http://walthope.wordpress.com
https://plus.google.com/u/0/100302133262254344211/posts
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