Today we continue our series, “Progress On Purpose.” I told you that God wants us to walk in “NEW LEVELS IN 2021!” But if we are going to do so, we must be intentional about our progress. With that in mind, as we lay the foundation for the year, I told you that I would discuss “Leveling Up” in five areas:
1. Spiritually
2. Financially
3. Physically
4. Internally
5. Externally
We have covered the first two thus far. Today we start the third: leveling up physically. In this section, I will cover the following:
1. Is health and wealth good or bad
2. Healing is the will of the Father
3. God wants you to live long and strong
4. Some things you can do to live long and strong
For the past two days, we have been on #2. We will stay there again today.
After providing you a small amount of teaching about the differences between Old and New Covenants, I believe I have to further explain that today, especially as it relates to healing.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Understanding the Bible at the MACRO LEVEL (big picture) is critical to our walk with Christ today.
Here is a little history.
a) In the beginning, God blessed Adam completely by grace. Adam did nothing to earn or deserve what God did in his life. Adam did not have The Law. All Adam had was ONE RULE. God gave Adam “more than enough” of everything, and he was tremendously blessed. His assignment was to expand God’s Kingdom on this planet. Adam was supposed to be a conduit of heaven on earth.
b) Fast forward to Abraham. The promise given to Abraham was for him and his “seed” or “child”. Paul tells us that this “seed” or “child” was actually Jesus. This covers Abraham and all those who came through his bloodline, and Jesus all of us who are connected to Him by faith. Because of Christ Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles are children of Abraham and heirs according to the promise.
c) The Law, given 430 years after Abraham, could not cancel the binding agreement (contract) God had with Abraham. Abraham was already gone, so God could not change the contract. The point is that the Law, which came later and focused on works, could not affect Abraham’s promise. The promise given to bless Abraham and his seed was based on faith and not The Law. This is important because Galatians 3:7 says, “Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham.” Abraham is the “Father of faith,” not The Law.
d) In Galatians 3:19, Paul explains why The Law was given. He said the purpose of The Law was “to show people their sins.” If you read the entire letter to the Galatians, you will see that Paul does a really good job of explaining The Law (Old Covenant) vs. Grace (New Covenant).
e) The Law was not designed to make us right with God. It was designed to show us that we are wrong and that we need a Savior. Rules cannot make you right. Rules can only show you when you are wrong.
f) You won’t ever realize you need to get saved until you acknowledge you are lost. The Law was designed to show us how lost we are without God.
g) The Law was designed to get man to the end of himself. The Law was designed to prove to us that we are not good enough and that we are incomplete without God. The Law served its purpose. Once we acknowledged the fact that we broke God’s Law and that we deserved punishment, we were able to open our hearts to Jesus.
h) The Law had an expiration date. The Bible says, “But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised” (Galatians 3:19). That child was Jesus!
i) The Bible calls the Old Covenant (the Law of Moses) obsolete and outdated. The writer of Hebrews said, “By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.” (Hebrews 8:13). The same writer told us that Jesus is the mediator of a “better covenant, which was established upon better promises.” (Hebrews 8:6). If the Bible teaches us that the purpose of the Old Covenant was to show us our sins, that this Covenant is now obsolete and outdated, and that Jesus mediated a better Covenant based on better promises, why would we be fixated on the Old Covenant? The only answer I can think of is that believers have not been taught. As you read Galatians 3 and Hebrews 8 for yourself, please open your heart to the grace and truth provided by Jesus. If you do, you will live free from the bondage of The Law, and more importantly, free from the power of sin. Furthermore, you will be free to RECEIVE by faith, ALL that God has provided BY GRACE… which includes healing!
2. The Law vs. Grace:
a) Adam is a picture of God’s best. In Genesis, before the fall of man, Adam walked with God in the cool of the day. He walked with God and God walked with him. He never went to school. He never received an education. He received revelation from heaven daily. He was a human conduit of the divine. He was a channel through which heaven visited the earth daily. Adam had no limits. He was so supernatural that he did not even realize the fact that he was naked. He was clothed with the glory of God. This was BEFORE the fall and BEFORE The Law. This is a picture of what Jesus came to redeem you to. Once you are Born-Again, then like Adam, your life is not to be focused on a bunch of rules. Your life is about being led by God’s Spirit to perform His will in this world. And please don’t think this means you can live a life of sin. That’s ridiculous. The Spirit of God will never lead you contrary to the Word of God.
b) The rules have changed. It is not that God has changed, but in many respects, the rules have changed. Under the Old Covenant, the Lord had a certain agreement in place, and He operated in accordance with that agreement. Under this New Covenant, we have a new agreement, and the Lord is operating in accordance with it. Suppose you don’t understand the differences between the two agreements. In that case, you might read something about God and how He operated under the Old Covenant and make the mistake of thinking He will deal with you the same way today, even though you are under a New Covenant. If you mix the two covenants, you will get confused, and it will probably hinder your ability to receive from God. This is why getting an understanding is so important. You will never maximize what you do not understand, and this is something critical where healing is concerned.
b) The Old Covenant of The Law focused on man. The Covenant of The Law put emphasis on man and what man could do for God. It was all about man working for God and attempting to do everything right. This covenant was not designed to make you right, because rules can’t make you right. What it was designed to do was to prove to you that you are wrong.
c) The New Covenant of Grace focuses on God. Under Grace we get to receive all God has already done for us. Grace is not about highlighting the fact that you are flawed and could never keep The Law. Under grace, you get to acknowledge the fact that you could never keep The Law and embrace the grace Jesus died to give you. Now your life is not about you and what you can do for God, but rather about God and what He has already done for you. Under Grace you know you are not perfect, but you get to live your life as a forgiven child of God, who now focuses on God and whatever He wants to do in, with and through your life. Healing a part of this!
3. An abundance of Grace!
(Romans 5:17 NKJV)
For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
(Romans 5:17 TPT)
Death once held us in its grip, and by the blunder of one man, death reigned as king over humanity. But now, how much more are we held in the grip of grace and continue reigning as kings in life, enjoying our regal freedom through the gift of perfect righteousness in the one and only Jesus, the Messiah!
One man, Adam, introduced the world to sin and death. The “Last Adam”, Jesus, came to get us out of everything Adam got us into. Under the Old Covenant believers lived by self-effort and human performance. Under the New Covenant we get to embrace God’s grace and receive everything Jesus did for us. In Jesus we have:
1. An abundance of Grace (Grace that will not run out)
2. The gift of Righteousness (Righteousness that cannot be earned)
Abundance of grace:
1. Grace FROM Sin (your past, present and future).
2. Grace FOR Purpose (your future).
– The devil wants you focused on your PAST.
– God wants you focused on your PURPOSE.
The God of Grace is faithful to you, even when you are not faithful to Him! The Bible says, “If we are faithless [do not believe and are untrue to Him], He remains true (faithful to His Word and His righteous character), for He cannot deny Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13 AMP)
– Under the Old Covenant, you had to DO right to BE right.
– You had to DO right for God to bless you.
– When you walked away from God, He allowed you to face what you faced without His power, presence, or protection.
– Under the New Covenant, He will not DENY HIMSELF. When He looks at You (if you are Born-Again), He sees Himself because He sees His SON! He cannot deny His SON, and He will not deny the purpose He placed IN you before the world began!
*** When the devil looks at you, he sees SIN. When God looks at you, He sees His Son… and He will not deny Himself! ***
*** God wants to bless you – NOT BECAUSE YOU ARE SO GOOD – but because HE IS SO GOOD! ***
4. Jesus qualified you for healing.
— One of the tactics of satan, to keep God’s children from receiving His best, is to tell believers that their actions disqualified them from God’s best.
— Whenever you sin, satan will whisper in your ear and tell you that you now don’t qualify! He will tell you NOT to pray and NOT to ask God for healing, or anything else, becuase of your performance.
— But under grace, despite the fact that we don’t qualify, we get to accept the reality that Jesus qualified FOR us. Everything Jesus did is attributed to us!
Check out what Paul said:
(Romans 8:16,17 TPT)
16 For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as he whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!”
17 And since we are his true children, we qualify to share all his treasures, for indeed, we are heirs of God himself. And since we are joined to Christ, we also inherit all that he is and all that he has. We will experience being co-glorified with him provided that we accept his sufferings as our own.
Under the covenant of grace, God’s healing has already been provided, and you qualify to receive it because Jesus qualified FOR you!
Please don’t allow performance-based religion to strip you of your confidence. Faith is all about confidence, and you will never have faith if you base it on your performance. Your faith must be in God and all He already provided for you. You are not perfect, but Jesus was perfect for you. You are not righteous, but Jesus was righteous for you. Therefore, YOU QUALIFY!
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me Your Word. I now see that Adam was not under The Law. You blessed Him by grace. You freely gave Him the responsibility to extend Your Kingdom to this planet. Abraham was not under The Law either. You chose him. You said You would bless him, make his name great, and bless all the families of the earth through him. He did nothing to earn or deserve it. It was ALL Your grace. Then The Law came through Moses and people focused on rules. Jesus came to redeem me all the way back to Your original purpose. The rules may say I am wrong, but Jesus qualified me for Your best. I am qualified! Not because of what I do or because of what I fail to do. I am qualified because of what Jesus did for me. Therefore, I receive everything You have for me. Healing in the children’s bread. I am Your child, and healing belongs to me. I level up in my understanding of how to receive from You in 2021. GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith, in Jesus’s name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
