Temple Baptist Life

In Malachi 3:8 – 10 we see a scripture about tithing and money. But as I read this the other day I thought how many of us are missing God’s blessings because of the curse we carry? I am not talking about money or the material, but about the blessing of Almighty God.

It is terrible and tragic to have access to your blessing yet you are blocked by your curse. For it is true that countless individuals who call themselves Christians live a seemingly picture perfect existence that appears to be marked by blessings, joys, serendipities, pleasures, and grace gifts; but in reality—from God’s perspective, the Word’s promise, and eternity’s point of view, they are stifled, held back, and handcuffed by the misery of their curse.

Recently I read a story told of a man who stole an enormous amount of money but was captured by the authorities in the process of the robbery. He didn’t have the money with him, so in their question and query they asked him where he had hid the money. However, it turned out that the man spoke another language, so they had to send for an interpreter. When the interpreter came, the authorities said, ‘Ask him where he hid the money.’

The interpreter asked the thief the question in his own language and the thief replied.

The authorities asked ‘What did he say?’

The interpreter replied ‘He’s not telling!’

The authorities insisted shouting, ‘Tell him we want to know where the money is, and we want to know now!’.

The interpreter repeated the question to the thief and got the same reply ‘He said he’s not telling!’

The chief head of the authorities thought he would try to scare the thief into telling, so he said to the interpreter, ‘Tell him that if he doesn’t tell us where the money is, we are going to kill his family, and blow out his brains!’

The interpreter repeated the threat to the thief who became frightened and told the interpreter step by step exactly where he could fine the money.

The authorities listened to the conversation and then asked the interpreter, ‘Well…what did he say?’

To which the interpreter replied, ‘He said he isn’t going to tell you anything.’

Eventually, in exasperation, the authorities convicted the thief while the interpreter found the money and became and inheritor of great wealth.

When I read that story about the authorities, the interpreter, and the thief I thought about the fact that MOST of us would look upon that interpreter with disgust, disdain, and revulsion. However, I’ve that we do the very same to God every day of our lives.

I also thought about that fact that the very thing that stands between the authority of the believer and the wealth of God is out faulty interpretation of the Holy Word of God and our thief and robber’s mentality. And it is through that thievish mentality and faulty interpretation that robs the believer of possessing the wealth and blessing of God in our lives. Why?

Because we have settled for selling ourselves short, blocked our blessing, and are content with our curse.
I want to push, encourage, exhort somebody that your tomorrow can be brighter than your yesterday, your destiny can be greater than your history, your dreams can be fonder than your memories, if you let God speak to your heart today and do it HIS way.

The curse can be reversed. The curse can be broken in your life forever. God desires that you move Him from being your last resort to your first priority. It is the will of God that you move the Word of God from being your spare tire and make it your steering wheel.

In Israel there are two different body of waters but they have the same water supply—the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Actually it comes from Mt. Herman when it is snowcapped; when that snow begins to melt on Mt. Herman, it rushes violently down Mt. Herman into the Northern inlet of the Jordan River; and then it flows straight through the Jordan River out through the Southern outlet of the Jordan into the Northern inlet of the Sea of Galilee; that same water keeps flowing through the Sea of Galilee out its Southern outlet into the Northern inlet of the Dead Sea; but once it gets to the Dead Sea, there it stands stagnant because the Dead Sea has no Southern outlet. The Dead Sea has a Northern inlet but no Southern outlet so the same water that flows INTO the Jordan and OUT the Jordan, INTO the Sea of Galilee and OUT the Sea of Galilee, INTO the Dead Sea, the cycle is suspended and aborted and there it stands and remains in the Dead Sea. But yet, the waters of the Sea of Galilee and the waters of the Dead Sea are different because the Sea of Galilee is rich and refreshing—things grow in it and flow in it; but the Dead Sea is cited as the Dead Sea for a reason. Why? Because nothing can FLOW there and consequently nothing can GROW there. Why? Because it is DEAD. Now how can these two different bodies of water get their water supply from the same source and one is rich and refreshing and the other is dead? That is because the Sea of Galilee receives and releases and therefore it GROWS and FLOWS there. But the Dead Sea has a receptive mentality but no release—it takes in but doesn’t let anything GO; and that’s why it is dead.

There are 2 different Christians reading this article. And of course, you get your blessings from the same supply and the same source because, according to James 1:17, every good and perfect gift comes from above from the Lord our God Who is our Maker, Sustainer, Savior, and Redeemer. Then how can one Christian’s life be rich and refreshing with things growing and flowing and then the other Christian getting their blessings and ‘good gifts’ from the same Sovereign Source but their life is DEAD and meaningless where nothing is FLOWING and GROWING. Why? That’s because if you have a receptive mentality but no release if all you want to do is RECEIVE God’s blessings but do not RELEASE God’s blessings I don’t care how long you’ve been coming to church, how big your Bible is, how cute you look when you get to church things will not work, flow, function and grow in your life.

Why? Because whatever God can send THROUGH a person last, God will send TO that person first.

Why? Because if God cannot send it THROUGH you, God won’t waste His time sending it TO you.

Get this—When God is meeting your needs He’s really on His way to meeting somebody else’s needs.

A lot of times when God is blessing you, He’s really on His way to blessing somebody else.

The modus operandi of God works this way: He’s sending it TO you, hoping that it channels THROUGH you to bless somebody else that He’s trying to touch.

But when you STOP the flow of what God is DOING—then God stops sending it your way.

As Christian believers, we don’t live our lives the way that the world lives theirs. As Christians, we don’t have the same mentality that the world uses to think the way that they think.

There is a way to get into the FLOW of God. There is a way to be USED of God. There is a way to GROW in God.

And it is connected to a fundamental, biblical truth and here it is: God’s glory is connected to OUR giving.

A family went to dine at a restaurant and the six-year-old boy was asked to say the blessing.

As they bowed their heads he said, “God is great. God is good. Thank you for this food. And I would even thank you more, God, if Mom bought us some ice cream after dinner with liberty and justice for all. Amen.”

This brought several chuckles from other customers and also one strong remark from an older woman seated nearby, “That’s what’s wrong with this country. Kids don’t even know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why I never!”
Tears welled up in the little boy’s eyes as he exclaimed, “Did I do something wrong? Is God mad at me?”

The mother reassured him that he had done nothing wrong and that he had done a great job as an elderly gentleman walked up and said, “I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer!”

“Really?” asked the little boy.

“Cross my heart,” answered the man and with sly grin nodding toward the woman, “Too bad she never asks for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes.”

Of course, mom bought ice cream for everyone. The little boy stared at his ice cream for a moment. Then he slid out of the booth, took his ice cream and placed it in front of the older woman.

With a big smile he told her, “This is for you. Sometimes a little ice cream is good for the soul and my soul is good already.”

If you want a blessing then be a blessing.