Isa 28:15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. 17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
2 Cor 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Everything we do today is governed by agreements and treaties.
A treaty is a binding agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely states and international organizations. Treaties are called by several names: treaties, international agreements, protocols, covenants, conventions, exchanges of letters, exchanges of notes, etc.
All of them mean the same thing: that two or more parties have entered into an agreement that something should or should not happen.
- NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
- SEATO (South East Asia Treaty Organization, Ended in 1975)
- NAFTA, Fishing, Hunting, Off-Shore Drilling, Air Space, etc.
- Geneva Protocols govern treatment of POW’s, conduct of war, etc.
- Nuclear Weapons Nations
There are spiritual agreements that govern our spiritual lives.
Eph 6:11-12 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
God operates under his own agreements; God also restricts Satan to certain boundaries.
Job 1:9-12 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
1 Cor 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Let’s look at the different kinds of agreements that exist in the Bible. (Agreement, Covenant, Promise, Oath, Blessing, Curse.)
Agreement
Bringing your will into alignment with God’s will.
Matt 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
(a-gre’) (sumphoneo, “to be of the same mind,” “to come to a mutual understanding”): This is the sense of the word in Matt 20:2; John 9:22, and other passages.
The word in Matt 18:19 is sumphoneo, from which comes our word symphony, meaning a harmonious blending. This agreement therefore is complete. Three persons are introduced: two human beings and God. They are in perfect agreement on the subject or purpose. It is therefore an inward unity leading the two into such an agreement with the Father. (from International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft)
Covenant
An agreement between two people or two groups that involves promises on the part of each to the other. Covenant between God and His people is one of the most important theological truths of the Bible. By making a covenant with Abraham, God promised to bless His descendants and to make them His special people. Abraham, in return, was to remain faithful to God and to serve as a channel through which God’s blessings could flow to the rest of the world (Gen 12:1-3). (from Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Old Testament Covenants
The Covenant with Noah. Judgment would not again come to men in the form of a flood; and that the recurrence of the seasons and of day and night should not cease (Gen 9; Jer 33:20).
The Covenant with Abraham. Abraham was to leave his country, kindred, and father’s house, and follow the Lord into the land that He would show him. The promise was a fourfold blessing:
(1) increase into a great people;
(2) material and spiritual prosperity-“I will bless you”;
(3) the exaltation of Abraham’s name-“make your name great”;
(4) Abraham was not only to be blessed by God, but to be a blessing to others, especially by the coming of the Messiah through his descendants (Gen 12:1-3).
The Covenant with Israel. This took place at Sinai, when the people accepted the words of the covenant as found in the Ten Commandments (Ex 34:28; 24:3) and promised to keep them.
Their obedience to the commands of the law was to be rewarded by God’s constant care of Israel, temporal prosperity, victory over enemies, and the pouring out of His Spirit (Ex 23:20-33).
The seal of this covenant was to be circumcision and was called “His covenant” (Deut 4:13).
The Covenant with David. The royal seed was to be in the house of David (2 Sam 7:12; 22:51),
2 Sam 7:12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
2 Sam 22:51 He is the tower of salvation for his king: and sheweth mercy to his anointed, unto David, and to his seed for evermore.
(Ps 2; 22; Isa 9:6-7; etc.). (From The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)
New Testament Covenants
The New Testament makes a clear difference between covenants of Law and covenants of Promise. The apostle Paul spoke of these “two covenants,” one originating “from Mount Sinai,” the other from “the Jerusalem above” (Gal 4:24-26).
24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
But the “covenants of promise” (Eph 2:12) are God’s guarantees that He will save all who believe in spite of our inability to keep his side of the agreement because of our weaknesses.
Eph 2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
The provision of the Messiah to be born is the promise of the covenants with Adam and David (Gen 3:15; 2 Sam 7:14-15). The covenant with Noah is God’s promise to withhold judgment on nature while salvation is occurring (Gen 8:21-22; 2 Peter 3:7,15). In the covenant with Abraham, God promised to bless Abraham’s descendants because of his faith.
These many covenants of promise with Adam, David, Noah and others may be considered one covenant of grace, which was fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus. His death ushered in the new covenant under which we are justified by God’s grace and mercy rather than our human attempts to keep the law. And Jesus Himself is the Mediator of this better covenant between God and man (Heb 9:15).
Heb 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
Jesus’ sacrificial death sealed this new covenant. He will give us eternal life and fellowship with Him, in spite of our unworthiness. As the Book of Hebrews declares, “The word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever” (Heb 7:28). This is still God’s promise to any person who turns to Him in repentance and faith.
(from Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
PROMISE
PROMISE. A solemn assertion, by which one pledges his integrity that he will perform, or cause to be performed, that which he mentions (1 Kings 8:56; 2 Chron 1:9; Ps 77:8).
1 Kings 8:56 Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.
Some promises are predictions, as the promise of the Messiah and the blessings of the gospel (Rom 4:13-14; Gal 3:14-29). Hence the Hebrews were called the “children of the promise” (Rom 9:8; Gal 4:28), as all true believers in Christ are called those “who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Heb 6:12); “heirs of the promise” (v. 17).
There are four classes of promises mentioned in Scripture:
- (1) those relating to the Messiah;
- (2) those relating to the church;
- (3) those relating to the Gentiles;
- (4) those relating to Israel as a nation, now nationally set aside (Rom 11:1-24), but yet to be restored (Ezek 37:1-14; Zech 8:1-12). (From The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)
OATH
- A solemn statement or claim used to validate a promise. In the Bible, oaths were sometimes accompanied by curses to make sure the oaths were kept (1 Sam 14:24; Gen 24:41). Curses were also used to protect property rights from thieves (Judg 17:2).
- An oath was used to seal treaties so that neither party broke their promise (Gen 26:28).
- Oaths were used in Israel’s treaty with God at Sinai (Deut 27:11-28:68; 29:11-20). (from Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
BLESSING
Acts of blessing may be considered:
- (1) When God is said to bless men (Gen 1:28; 22:17). God’s blessing is accompanied by his virtue. Because God is eternal and omnipresent, his promises are sure.
- (2) When men bless God (Ps 103:1-2; 145:1-3; etc.). How? Ascribing to God those characteristics that are already His, (i.e. sovereignty, mercies, etc.).
- (3) Men bless their fellowmen when they predict blessings to come upon them. Thus Jacob blessed his sons (Gen 49:1-28; Heb 11:21), and Moses the children of Israel (Deut 33). The priests blessed the people in the name of the Lord.
- (4) At meals. The psalmist says, “I shall lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord” (Ps 116:13), an apparent reference to a custom among the Jews. A feast was made of a portion of their thank offerings when, among other rites, the master of the feast took a cup of wine, offering thanks to God for His mercies. The cup was then passed to all the guests, each drinking in his turn. At family feasts, and especially the Passover, both bread and wine were passed and thanks offered to God for His mercies. (From The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)
CURSE
- (kurs) (‘alah (Num 5:21,23,27, etc.), me’erah (Prov 3:33; Mal 2:2, etc.), klalah (Gen 27:12-13); katara (Gal 3:10,13)):
- When a curse is pronounced against any person, we are not to understand this as a mere wish. A curse was considered to possess an inherent power of carrying itself into effect. Prayer has been defined as a wish referred to God.
- Curses (or blessings) were condemnations referred to supernatural beings in whose existence and power to do good or inflict harm primitive man believed.
Magic. The use of magic and spells of all kinds is based on the belief that it is possible to enlist the support of the superhuman beings to carry out the suppliant’s wishes. Spells were sometimes written on pieces of parchment and cast to the winds in the belief that they would find their way to their proper destination-that some demoniac being would act as postman and deliver them at the proper address.
- In Zech (Zech 5:1-3) the “flying roll,” with curses inscribed on it “goeth forth over the face of the whole land.” It would find its way into the house of every thief and perjurer. Generally the name of some deity would be coupled with such curses, as Goliath cursed David by his gods (1 Sam 17:43). Such curses once uttered possessed the power of self-realization.
- In Deuteronomy 11:29; 27:12 the curse was placed on Mt. Ebal and the blessing. on Mr. Gerizim. But the curse was the penalty for disobedience, as the blessing was the reward for obedience.
- In the light of the law Paul writes that all men are guilty. There is no acquittal through appeal to a law that commands and never forgives, prohibits and never relents. The violator of the law is under a curse. His doom has been pronounced. Escape is impossible. But on the cross Jesus Christ endured the curse-for “cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Gal 3:10,13), and a curse that has overtaken its victim is a spent force. (from International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft)
Generational Curse & Family Curses
- There is a common teaching that the Bible teaches generational or family curses. They teach that somehow there is a curse being passed down from generation to generation.
- They will quote passages like Exodus 20:5, Numbers 14:18, and Deuteronomy 5:9 to prove their point. To forever refute this false teaching read what Ezekiel 18 says:
- “Yet say ye, Why? Doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father?…The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him,” Ezekiel 18:19-20 (See also: Deuteronomy 24:16, 2 Kings 14:6, 2 Chronicles 25:4).
EZEKIEL 18:20—Does God ever punish one person for another’s sin?
PROBLEM: Ezekiel says clearly God does not punish the sons for their fathers’ sins, but that “the soul who sins shall die [for its own sins].” However, in Exodus 20:5 we are informed that God visits “the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations.” These seem flatly contradictory.
SOLUTION: Ezekiel is speaking of the guilt of the father’s sin never being held against the sons, but Moses was referring to the consequences of the fathers’ sins being passed on to their children. Unfortunately, if a father is a drunk, the children can suffer abuse and even poverty. Likewise, if a mother has contracted AIDS from drug use, then her baby may be born with AIDS. But, this does not mean that the innocent children are guilty of the sins of their parents.
Further, even if the Exodus passage implied that moral guilt was somehow also visited on the children, it would only be because they too, like their fathers, had sinned against God. Noteworthy is the fact that God only visits the iniquities of “those who hate” Him (Ex. 20:5), not those who do not.
( Geisler, N. L., & Howe, T. A. 1992. When critics ask : A popular handbook on Bible difficulties . Victor Books: Wheaton, Ill. )
Do you feel like you are under a curse?
- U. S. Constitutional law only protects us as we abide by international treaties.
- Once we venture outside the boundaries, we fall under a new jurisdiction.
- The only way to deal with Satan’s laws are to confess and forsake sin, and apply the blood of Jesus (the new covenant). The greater law supersedes the lesser law.
Eph 1:19-23 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
These curses cannot be swept aside. They must be dealt with according to the protocol of scripture. Calvary was proof that God did not sweep aside the curse of sin, but he fully met the demands and provided a way of salvation.
These are SPIRITUAL TRANSGRESSIONS that must be addressed in the right way:
- IDOLATRY - Eastern Religions (list) - Meditation - Chanting/mantras - Cults (list them) - Secret Orders/Lodges - Material things - Money - People
- OCCULT - Astrology - Fortune telling (types) - Ouija Board - Seances - Dungeons & Dragons (or similar games - board or computer) - Hypnosis/Self-hypnosis - ESP - Crystals - Psychic healing - Occult literature - Occult beliefs - OOBE (Out of body experiences attempted/experienced) - Spiritism - Parapsychology - Pychic beliefs and practices
- WITCHCRAFT & SATANISM - Incantations - Spells - Dedications - Rituals - Ritual abuse - Blasphemy/Mockery - Literature - Beliefs - Murder - Perversions - Magic - Santeria - Voodoo - Powwow healing witchcraft (Pennsylvania Dutch) - Maloike (Italian witchcraft)- Wicca - Druidism
- SEXUAL SINS - Fornication - Adultery - Pornography - Rape - Incest - Lust - Masturbation - Homosexuality - Abortion - Bestiality - Pedophilia - Exhibitionism - Abuse - Fantasy - List other perversions
- DRUGS/ADDICTIONS - Illegal (list them all) - Alcohol abuse - Smoking (abuse of body) - Prescription drug dependency - Food dependency
- BELIEVING SATAN’S LIES - Regarding self-image - Regarding God - Regarding religious beliefs - Regarding people - Regarding behavior
- FEAR - Fear of failure - Fear of success - Fear of Rejection - Miscellaneous fears (list) - Anxiety - Worry - Despair - Hopelessness
- UNBELIEF - Lack of trust - Double-mindedness - Doubts - Skepticism
- DECEIT/DISHONESTY - Lying - Stealing - Exaggeration
- PRIDE - Self-righteousness - Self-focused - Vanity - Arrogance
- REBELLION - Disobedience - Disrespect - Self-willed - Stubbornness
- ANGER - Hatred - Bitterness - Resentment - Unforgiveness - Rage - Revenge - Slander/Gossip - Critical/Judgmental - Blame-shifting - Prejudice/Bigotry - Malice
- WISHING DEATH - For self - For others
- VIOLENT ACTS - Attempted suicide - Abuse - Murder
- VULGAR LANGUAGE - Cursing (Lord’s name in vain) - Off color stories and jokes
- MUSIC - (Regarding content of message or performers’ lifestyles) - Occultic, - Satanic, - Trance - Sexual - Drug oriented - Rebellion - Focus on Death
Saturday, August 18, 2007 at 11:42AM 
Meeting with God is never easy. The author of Hebrews writes that “anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Heb 11:6). Through the prophet Jeremiah, God says to Judah, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jer 29:13). We must reach out for God even as we sit down to be with him.
