Eternity Daily Bible Study No. 189 - Nehemiah, God's Builder - Part 11 - Curses To Blessings Nehemiah 13:1-2 MKJV On that day they read in the book of Moses in the ears of the people. And in it was found written that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not come into the congregation of God forever, (2) because they did not meet the sons of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them so that he should curse them. But our God turned the curse into a blessing. Galatians 3:10-14 MKJV For as many as are out of works of the Law, these are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the Book of the Law, to do them." (11) But that no one is justified by the Law in the sight of God is clear, for, "The just shall live by faith." (12) But the Law is not of faith; but, "The man who does these things shall live in them." (13) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone having been hanged on a tree"); (14) so that the blessing of Abraham might be to the nations in Jesus Christ, and that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Curses? Today? Absolutely! Though the idea of curses and blessings may seem like primitive superstitions they are a real part of the spiritual world from the Fall, until the New Heavens and New Earth are unveiled: Rev 22:3 And every curse will no longer be; but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will serve Him. Blessings and curses are when spoken words affect the natural order because they are uttered by someone with authority over that area. Noah cursed Canaan, and Joshua later obliterated the Canaanites. Jacob blessed his sons and the blessings came to pass. Blessings can be eternal as in God's blessings that last to the "ten thousandth generation", whereas most curses are only "to the third and fourth generation" (Exodus 34:7). The original blessing was in three parts - be fruitful, multiply and have dominion (Genesis 1:28) and the first curses, after the Fall were the exact opposites: barrenness (Eve), frustration (Adam) and humiliation (the Serpent). When individuals, families or nations experience unusual levels of barrenness, frustration and humiliation then a curse may be at work. According to Derek Prince seven indications of a curse are: 1. Mental or emotional breakdown.. 2. Repeated or chronic sicknesses. 3. Barrenness, a tendency to miscarry or related female problems 4. Breakdown of marriage and family alienation. 5. Continuing financial insufficiency 6. Being accident prone 7. A history of suicides or unnatural and untimely deaths. I would add to this chronic humiliation, and the lack of ability to make progress in life despite strenuous efforts to do so. For more on curses see http://www.aibi.ph/articles/curses.htm Nehemiah though points out a precious fact to us - curses are not final because God can turn curses into blessings! "But our God turned the curse into a blessing." Nehemiah 13:2 A recent incident may illustrate this point - in late June/early July I was ministering in Malaysia under unusual anointing and taking any meetings. As soon as I returned I found myself with chronic stomach problems and a rash of sudden mysterious breakages - the door lock broke , the toilet refused to flush, the computer motherboard went funny, the phone line stopped working, a brand new printer did not function, taps leaked, fans stopped and died, everywhere my wife and I turned something would break down until the house was nearly unlivable and ministry nearly impossible and I was losing strength from my illness. (This is why you did not get Eternity for sometime). Then, on Monday just past, I started to intercede in spiritual warfare and take authority over all the things that were going wrong. I started praying against a "hindering spirit" and the word "Breaker" came to mind - so I rebuked "breaker" (a good name for what the spirit was doing) and commanded the spirit to depart and to fix all it had broken. Within 24 hours everything was fixed, the printer replaced without charge, the toilet repaired, the taps replaced, the phone worked, and my stomach problems cleared up. Now I am able to write Eternity again! The power of Jesus is far greater than the power of Satan but we must use the authority that He gives us in the heavenly realms (for more on spiritual authority see http://www.aibi.ph/warfare/). God can out-bless every curse and Christ has "become a curse for us on the cross" thus breaking the legal power of all curses against born-again believers. If born-again believers stand up to Satan and rebuke the curses in their own lives then they can break and destroy the power of the curse by the power of the cross. Jesus not only breaks the curses , He also gives us many mighty blessings. Ephesians 1:3 MKJV Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ; Galatians 3:9 MKJV So then those of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. Galatians 3:14 MKJV so that the blessing of Abraham might be to the nations in Jesus Christ, and that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Born-again Christians exist in a state of blessedness before God where there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1) and where they have every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 1:3) including the Abrahamic blessings (Galatians 3:9,14). God has truly turned our curses (from the Law and our disobedience) into blessings, but He seems to have left a portion of the task up to us in that generally we need to be the one to break the curses and appropriate the blessings. Breaking curses involves renouncing occult involvement, repenting of known sin including grudges and unforgiveness, and then standing firm on your inheritance and authority in Christ. Appropriating blessings involves "believing you have received" and deciding to commit yourself to believing what the Word of God says about your life and staking yourself firmly on the promises of God. Our "justification" in Christ means we are removed from bitter judgments and cursings by God. We are disciplined a sons, not cursed as rebels. Romans 8:31-34 MKJV What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (32) Truly He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (33) Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God who justifies. (34) Who is he condemning? It is Christ who has died, but rather also who is raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. God has decided to freely give us all things, including all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms. Non-one can "legally" lay a charge or a curse against God's elect. Satan will try to "illegally" curse us, but when we fight back, he is finished. Christ Himself intercedes for us. You have probably heard the stories about Satanists cursing Christian leaders. Such curses seem to "work"- until they are detected and broken - then they are totally ineffective. Curses can cause mysterious conflicts in ministries, misunderstandings, financial insufficiency, sickness and even death. So we need to be alert, and to fight them defeating the spiritual powers that are arrayed against us. (Ephesians 6:10-18) But when we do fight and wrestle and travail - we win. God is on our side, and "our God" the God we worship will turn our curses into blessings through the mighty work of Christ on the cross. For more on curses see http://www.aibi.ph/articles/curses.htm For more on spiritual warfare see http://www.aibi.ph/warfare/. Blessings, John Edmiston Were you blessed by Eternity Daily Bible Study? To subscribe just send a blank email to: eternity-dbs-subscribe@strategicnetwork.org Visit the Eternity Daily Bible Study Archives - http://www.aibi.ph/eternity/ Study at the Asian Internet Bible Institute- Free online non-formal, in-service, bible and ministry training: http://www.aibi.ph