Redemption from Curses

TRINITY HOUSEHOLD OF FAITH

 

SUNDAY SERMON

23rd of April, 2023

Topic:                         Redemption from Curses

Preacher:                   Reverend Ebenezer Olawuyi

Text:                           Genesis 12:1 – 3

 

MESSAGE

From our Devotional, God wants you to know that He wants you to plan. Everything in life is about planning. Do you know that God wants you to plan your life? Some people think it is ungodly to plan and so, they quote the scripture in Proverbs 16:1 “The preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.” No! God wants you to plan your life. God wants you to plan your family and not just give birth to a lot of children, saying, “Let the quiver be full of them” while you can’t take care of those children. Do you know that God wants you to plan your retirement? I see people work for 30 – 40 years and the first year after they retire, they are bankrupt. Some even go bankrupt after 6 months, that’s bad and that’s a life without a plan. God wants you to plan; plan for your health and plan for eternity. In anything you are doing, you must plan. The simple way of defining a plan is ‘to think ahead’ – How do you get from where you are to where you should be. Planning is not doing, planning is a mental work. It is putting something that you imagine into paper. For example, “I am traveling to Lagos. When I leave here by 6am, I will stop in Ogbomoso because I want to visit a friend. I will leave Ogbomoso by 10am, get to Ibadan, see somebody around Ojo for about 2 hours. When I leave there, I will go to Lagos but before I get to Lagos, I will stop at Redemption Camp and have prayers for about 3 hours,” that’s a plan. Another example, “I want to start a project and build this auditorium, what’s the plan? The first three days will be for setting out. The next seven days would be digging. The next one week is for erecting the columns. The next few days would be for constructing the decking and after that, maybe about two days, I begin to lay the block.” Before you start a project, you must already have a work plan: “What will I need for the project?” “This project may likely cost 10 million naira, where will I get the money?” “Okay, I will do it one after the other. The first stage of setting down and digging will cost me N500,000.” You may not be precise but you have a plan. You don’t just wake up one day and say God told me to build this house and because you have 1 million naira you call the digger. It doesn’t work like that. You want to travel to the UK but are going through a German airline without a transit visa? You should have asked people for what the airline requires. That’s planning.

Look at the creation project, how did God do it? He started one after the other with “Let there be light.” You would agree with me that God planned everything. The light first, then the firmament, the fishes in the water, the land, the vegetation, the animals. God must have thought, “How will vegetation arise?  Okay, I will command the land to bring out vegetation. Now, when do I create man? The animals are already there for food so, I can create man now.” God even made sure to give the man a job before He created the woman out of him. After God has seen that man has started working in the garden, He then made the woman. You can imagine, it wasn’t an afterthought. God actually planned it before making all these things. If you don’t want to have frustration or ridicule in life, like the story in Luke 14, he started building but couldn’t complete it and people started mocking him. God says you shouldn’t allow people mock you; before you start, sit down and plan. Bring the future to today, that’s planning.

The second point there which is also very important is that a lot of people are so much in haste. People are so emotional. Somebody just came and told you that there is one business in town, if you put N200,000 there, you will have N500,000 the next week. You didn’t even sit down and think about it. The next thing, you started rushing, put N200,000 together and put it in the business. One week after, no profit came out of it. Can you imagine the trauma and headache? Because you didn’t sit down. Before you ever make anything, sit down. ‘Sit down’ means plan, get the things you need to get. Anything you want to do in life, whether it’s physical project or even your life project, you must sit down properly. Don’t rush, calm yourself down. Even if God had told you, God still wants you to sit down and think. I have seen many men who go to propose to sisters… such men saw a dream and the next thing, they went to propose. After a while, they see something that they do not like in the sister and quickly refutes it that God did not reveal anything to them. Even if God had told you, before you commit yourself, sit down and think; make friends with the lady before you go ahead.

The next point I want to emphasise is this: Get figures, get facts for anything you want to do. If you want to start a sachet or bottle water business, get information. How much is the equipment? How do they maintain the equipment? Would I need diesel to run the equipment? Somebody showed me a coastal bus with a very good price recently and I was so much interested in it. I was already negotiating and told somebody to find out some things about the bus. By the time he found out, he told me the bus is diesel-driven. I said, “No wonder it has a good price because the price of diesel is high.” Imagine someone rushing to buy that kind of bus with the cost of diesel today. You need to get facts. Anything you want to do, find out information about it from people who had done it before. Somebody can just get excited because pure water is selling during the dry season and don’t find out what their sale is during the rainy season. Now, it’s rainy season and everything goes down. You must find out all the information required like Nehemiah did. He got information, even went in the night through the wall to see for himself, to get correct information before he started. Don’t rush! Don’t be too emotional about things. Nobody wants to waste their money, that’s why bankers ask for collaterals. Before you do anything, calm down and seek counsel where necessary. In the multitude of counsel, purpose is established. Get correct information. You want to sell something or go into farming? Go and get information. You must get information. Nehemiah got all the information required. Not only in business, anything in life that you want to do, get information. I have seen people who take decision but didn’t sit down to think and thus, get into trouble. You can make research online, search and get a lot of information. There are people who have done what you have done and are ready to share it for free. Sometimes ago, we were in the U.S. and our toilet door got hooked. My brother-in-law came, Googled about it and took a pin, pushed it through the hole and it opened. Somebody had had that kind of experience and shared the solution for free. Study! Anything you want to do, study, get information.

 

You know, this month is the month of God’s Mightiness and God can demonstrate His Mightiness in different ways. I am leaving you with this word that God can so demonstrate His mightiness and bless you so much that you become a blessing. Looking at the case of Abraham… seven levels of blessings came upon Abraham in Genesis 12:1 – 3: (1) I will make you a great nation (2) I will bless you (3) I will make your name great (4) You shall be a blessing (5) I will bless those who bless you (6) I will curse those who curse you (7) In you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. This is a perfect blessing. Seven is the number of perfection. God told Abraham that He is going to do these in his lives and the same thing is what God will do in your life also. Say: “God is making me a great nation. God will bless me. God will make my name great. God will make me a blessing. God will bless those who bless me. God will curse those who curse me. In me all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

The scripture says in 2 Corinthians 1:20, “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen…” that is, all these blessings are fulfilled in Christ Jesus. If you have Jesus, you draw these seven-fold blessings. If you have Jesus, you have these seven-fold blessings. Ephesians 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ.” ‘In Christ!’ This scripture is about spiritual blessings but that’s not all. 2 Peter 1:3 says, “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.” ‘Anything that pertains to life,’ that’s why Jesus says in John 10:10 that a thief comes to steal but He has come that you may have life and have life abundantly. It’s not ‘some things’ but all things that pertain to life and godliness. It’s not just spiritual blessings alone but even earthly blessings, physical blessings, e.g. health, provision, exaltation, promotion, etc. For example, when God told Abraham, “I will make you a great nation.” God wants to make your name great. Everywhere people hear your name, your name shall become great. All things that pertain to life and godliness; not just spiritual blessings but ‘all things’.

How did curse enter into the world? It came into the world through the law. Not because the law was bad but because man couldn’t keep it. Deuteronomy 28:15 downwards talk about all the curses of the law which are summarized under three sub-headings: (1) Poverty (2) Sickness (3) Spiritual Death. Jesus hates poverty. Over two-third of the parables of Jesus involves money. Jesus hates poverty. So, one of the things that Jesus redeemed us from is poverty. The second thing Jesus redeemed us from is Sickness. Even if you have a great name, without enjoying your health, you are not enjoying your life. Jesus heals wholly, completely. Jesus is more interested in being whole and complete, that is, healing in the body, mind and spirit, that’s why 3 John 1:2 says, “I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health…” In other words, as you are prospering spiritually, God wants you to prosper all-round. God wants you to be the head and not the tail. One of the blessings of the covenant in Deuteronomy 28 is that you will be the head. God’s blessings is a blessing of exaltation.

Jesus has redeemed us from sickness – “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him” (Acts 10:38).

The third thing is Spiritual Death. Listen, it doesn’t make any impact; it has no value in eternity if you have money, good health, great name and you end in hell. Remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus. That’s why God delivers us from spiritual death, that in Christ, even though we die on this earth, we shall not die again. He said, He that believes in me shall not perish but have everlasting life. God delivers us from spiritual death which comes upon those who do not have Christ.

All that we see from Deuteronomy 28:14 downwards are summarized into the following: Poverty. Sickness… I didn’t talk about physical death because it is an agent of sickness. If you deal with sickness, death will not be found. Christ redeemed us from all these curses. Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)”. My people perish for lack of knowledge; I like you to go with this knowledge, wake up every morning and declare: “I am redeemed from the garment of poverty and sickness. My body is not a carrier of sickness. The name of Jesus Christ has redeemed me from spiritual death, I cannot die spiritually. I commune with God as Father and son. I will not perish. I will not fall by the way side.” Let us pray!

Prayer

In the name of Jesus, I am redeemed from poverty. I am redeemed from every form of sickness. I have good health and have soundness in my body. In the name of Jesus, I will not die young. I fulfill the number of my days. I am redeemed from the second death. I will not perish. I have eternal life. I have the life of God in me.

Call to Salvation

In Christ lies all these blessings and redemption from curses. Are you saved yet? Have you received the Lordship of Jesus? If you haven’t, say this prayer: Lord Jesus, I surrender to your Lordship. Today, I receive you as my Lord and Saviour. Please, wash me clean and let your redemption promises be evident in my life. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus Name I prayed. Amen.