THE MESSAGE TODAY: How to be curse free?

Galatians 3

English Standard Version (ESV)

By Faith, or by Works of the Law?

3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. ² Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by^[a] the flesh? ⁴ Did you suffer^[b] so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? ⁵ Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— ⁶ just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

⁷ Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. ⁸ And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify^[c] the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” ⁹ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

¹⁰ For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” ¹¹ Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”^{[d] 12} But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” ¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— ¹⁴ so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit^[e] through faith.

The Law and the Promise

¹⁵ To give a human example, brothers:^[f] even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. ¹⁶ Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. ¹⁷ This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
¹⁹ Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. ²⁰ Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.
²¹ Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. ²² But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
²³ Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. ²⁴ So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, ²⁶ for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. ²⁷ For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave^[g] nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

Footnotes:

1. Galatians 3:3 Or now ending with
2. Galatians 3:4 Or experience
3. Galatians 3:8 Or count righteous; also verses 11, 24
4. Galatians 3:11 Or The one who by faith is righteous will live
5. Galatians 3:14 Greek receive the promise of the Spirit
6. Galatians 3:15 Or brothers and sisters
7. Galatians 3:28 Greek bondservant

TODAY’S MESSAGE TO CHURCHES THAT SPEAK ENGLISH: THE WAY OF LOVE

The watchman asked the Lord and received this as Today’s Message to Churches that speak English:”THE WAY OF LOVE”

1 Corinthians 13 (ESV) The Way of Love

13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,^[a] but have not love, I gain nothing.
⁴ Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;^{[b] 6} it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
⁸ Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. ¹² For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
¹³ So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Footnotes:

1. 1 Corinthians 13:3 Some manuscripts deliver up my body [to death] that I may boast
2. 1 Corinthians 13:5 Greek irritable and does not count up wrongdoing

The watchman has no other words. His only prompting is that we read the word from the end. There are seven love letters from the resurrected Lord Jesus Himself. Go and read them, church!

Verses for the downhearted in the flesh -the word is ‘CONTRITE’

For encouragement, here are the verses for the ‘downhearted’ in the flesh.

1. Psalm 34:18
   The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
   Psalm 34:17-19 (in Context) Psalm 34 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2. Psalm 51:17
   The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.
   Psalm 51:16-18 (in Context) Psalm 51 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
3. Isaiah 57:15
   For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
   Isaiah 57:14-16 (in Context) Isaiah 57 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
4. Isaiah 66:2
   For all those things My hand has made, And all those things exist,” Says the LORD. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.
   Isaiah 66:1-3 (in Context) Isaiah 66 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

FLEE! CUT LOSSES! GET OUT OF THE CAMP!

A REAL LIFE CASE

Yesterday the mindman saw a very expensive huge foreign Benz car drove up to his yard. It belonged to a close one’s insurance agent. The close one had just surrendered her life endowment insurance after deciding that she no longer needed to insure her life. She however discovered to her shock that by surrendering she lost $100000 (about one-third of what she had paid the insurance system!). 

If she had kept the money in her bank account she would have received all her saving principals plus interests! It was a daylight robbery by a middle man who added no economic value to the woman and the society at large. 

She paid her half yearly premiums faithfully not knowing that it was not a saving plan for her retirement. Now that she has retired early she has lost one-third of that savings to the insurance system! She was worse off instead of being better off. 

She was told that she would receive $36000 yearly after 14 years, but it turned out that out of the $36000 she has to continue paying yearly premium of about $33000 for the rest of her life! That leaves her a NET earning of a meager $3000 yearly, that is, a mere $250 to live on per month. How can she live on with $250 a month? But the insurance system is not concerned with such an unjust (RATHER CRUEL AND DECEPTIVE) scheme.  

HERE IS THE CALCULATION: She started paying the yearly premium of $35000 since she was 41 years old. By 55 years old she would retire and would have paid them a total of $490000 in premium. The insurance company will thereafter pay her $3000 a year ($250 per month). What she has paid them can afford them to pay her 163 years if she lives that long (55 +163 = 218 years old). According to their scheme now revealed, she needs to live divine on $250 a month if she has no other income. 

Where has her $100000 premium gone? Surely the insurance system did not need to spend one hundred thousand dollars to print a certificate of insurance. The insured has paid for heavy and unjust expenses incurred by the insurance system, such as, a Mercedes-Benz for someone who shuffles some papers, talks some words, and helps the insured fill up stacks of forms with very small prints.

It is indeed better to be an insurance agent or anyone who works with papers and letters than to be a hard working professional who has to study hard and work hard all her working life saving others’ lives while believing that she could retire with a secured sum of savings (all earned through honest means), which had turned out to be a fantasy!

(Note: in the above case, the ex-insured does not depend solely on this particular ‘saving’ plan. She could live on. )

See behind the systems

The insurance system cannot give people long life or good health. It cannot even assure you that your own savings will be safe. Whatever you can afford to pay as premium is subject to the risk called, TRUST -PUTTING YOUR TRUST IN A HUMAN SYSTEM.

All they ‘promise’ is if you die your beneficiary will receive a sum of money. But what is the good for the insured person? Someone else gets a limited sum of money in exchange for your life! There is no benefit for you in the insurance.

The insurance system promises paying a certain amount of hospital fees if you get terminally ill. Again what is the good to the insured if the person is terminally ill. Again there is no benefit for you in the insurance. 

(Who wants to die or get terminally ill in order to receive a benefit?)  
Who in their sound mind would want to exchange their lives for some ‘benefits’ which go to others (either your beneficiary or the hospital for cancer treatment)?
Yet many do not practice sound mind because they put their trust and hope in the SYSTEMS -MERE HUMAN WORD SYSTEMS.

An ex-medical specialist lamented that patients came and asked for whatever treatment they could get in order to have hope for an extended life. After being told that there was nothing more to do for their cases they still begged and asked the medical system to try. People were desperate and willing to pay any price just to have life. But the medical system cannot give life.

The insurance system cannot give life and security. Neither can the medical system give life and security. But people do not know this.

Human minds are good at creating vain hopes. Human fall for lies about hope. The utmost hope is having eternal life. 

The truth is, human cannot give or create lives.Human systems cannot even give you physical life, not to mention eternal life in your spirit.

WHERE IS HOPE WHEN DECEIVERS RULE?

The mindman feels indignant that lies can camouflage themselves as truth and prevail so well and so long in the human system.

Why do people allow themselves to remain poor and be enslaved by having to pay homage (in hard earned money) to flawed systems? The answer is that people live in fear all their lives.

There is a Bible verse for this: in Hebrews 2:15 Jesus came and destroyed the devil, who had the power of death, “and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” 

The GOOD NEWS is that Jesus has come and destroyed the power of death! You do not need to fear anymore. Just get out of the system.

FLEE! CUT LOSSES! GET OUT OF THE CAMP!

MANY HAVE GOT OUT AND NOW LIVE DIVINE HAVING BEEN SET FREE FROM BONDAGE.

Isaiah 52:11
Depart! Depart! Go out from there, Touch no unclean thing; Go out from the midst of her, Be clean, You who bear the vessels of the LORD.
Isaiah 52:10-12 (in Context) Isaiah 52 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

What holy vessels are you carrying today? Your body and your soul. Your body is not your own. it is Christ’s. He paid for it with His precious blood. (1 Cor.6:17-20) Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you.

Your soul (mind and emotion) is precious and a target for captive by the enemy -the devil.

Jesus has pointed out the common folly of man.Matthew 16:26 “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

The devil had offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and their glory(Matt4:8-10) which are currently owned by the devil.

The world has to be earned by the exchange of your soul. can you afford it? 

______________GOD HAS WARNED THE SYSTEMS PERPETRATORS WHO DO NOT REPENT:

Revelation 22:15 (NKJV) ¹⁵ But^[a] outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. Footnotes: Revelation 22:15 NU-Text and M-Text omit But.

What do end times Christians do? preaching, teaching and healing:

 Most Christians today are increasingly aware of what the Lord's will is. No one wants to be condemned by not knowing the will of the Father in heaven. Jesus clearly declared that only those who do the will of the Father can enter heaven. (Matt.7:21)

The utmost question is: What is the will of God? Jesus does the will of the Father in heaven and He knows the will of God. As Paul has urged us, let us emulate Christ.

 Matthew 9:35-38 (NKJV)

The Compassion of Jesus (Learn from His example of an evangelist)

³⁵ Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.^{[a] 36} But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary^[b] and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. ³⁷ Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ³⁸ Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 9:35 NU-Text omits among the people.
2. Matthew 9:36 NU-Text and M-Text read harassed.

Matthew 10 (NKJV)

1 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. 

 ⁷ And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ ⁸ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead,^[c] cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

 ¹⁴ And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet.

 ¹⁶ “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. ¹⁷ But beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues.

  ²² And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

 ²⁶ Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

 ²⁸ And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

 ³² “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.

³⁴ “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 

  ³⁸ And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹ He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

⁴⁰ “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. 

 

The Lord speaks to the church elders today: ONE MESSAGE

TODAY’S MESSAGE FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT: THE LORD WANTS US TO EMULATE PAUL. HE HAS ONLY ONE MESSAGE -THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.
Paul Speaks to the Ephesian Elders Acts 20:17-35 (NLT)
¹⁷ But when we landed at Miletus, he sent a message to the elders of the church at Ephesus, asking them to come and meet him.
¹⁸ When they arrived he declared, “You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now ¹⁹ I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews. ²⁰ I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. ²¹ I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.
²² “And now I am bound by the Spirit^[a] to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, ²³ except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. ²⁴ But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.
²⁵ “And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again. ²⁶ I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault,^{[b] 27} for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know.
²⁸ “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood^[c]—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders.^{[d] 29} I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. ³⁰ Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. ³¹ Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you—my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.
³² “And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.
³³ “I have never coveted anyone’s silver or gold or fine clothes. ³⁴ You know that these hands of mine have worked to supply my own needs and even the needs of those who were with me. ³⁵ And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Footnotes:

1. Acts 20:22 Or by my spirit, or by an inner compulsion; Greek reads by the spirit.
2. Acts 20:26 Greek I am innocent of the blood of all.
3. Acts 20:28 Or with the blood of his own [Son].
4. Acts 20:28 Greek overseers.

On the third day after the superstorm: They have washed their robes

On the third day after the superstorm, the watchman heard, Revelation 7. So he opened his Bible and read.

A Great Multitude from Every Nation

^{Revelation 7: 9} After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
¹³ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” ¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵ “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
    and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
¹⁶ They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
    the sun shall not strike them,
    nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷ For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

________________________More verses on 'washing' and 'wearing white garments':

1 Corinthians 6:11
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:10-12 (in Context) 1 Corinthians 6 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Hebrews 10:22
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Hebrews 10:21-23 (in Context) Hebrews 10 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Acts 22:16
And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’
Acts 22:15-17 (in Context) Acts 22 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Ephesians 5:26
that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,
Ephesians 5:25-27 (in Context) Ephesians 5 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Isaiah 1:16
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
Isaiah 1:15-17 (in Context) Isaiah 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

 

Jeremiah 4:14
O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil, that you may be saved. How long shall your wicked thoughts lodge within you?
Jeremiah 4:13-15 (in Context) Jeremiah 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

 

What qualified them to wear white robes?

1. The blood of the Lamb.
2. They have not soiled their garments by sins.
3. They are considered worthy by the Lord.
4. The one who conquers (overcomes sins)
    
   Revelation 3:4-5
   Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
   Revelation 3:3-5 (in Context) Revelation 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
   Rewards for those who get to wear white garments in heaven
   
   1. The Lord will allow them to walk with Him (in white).
      
   2. Their names will be kept in the book of life.
      
   3. Jesus will grant them to sit with Him on His throne. (Rev.3:21)
   Revelation 3:18
   I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see.
   Revelation 3:17-19 (in Context) Revelation 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
   Revelation 4:4
   Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads.
   Revelation 4:3-5 (in Context) Revelation 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

 How to be sanctified?

BY THE HOLY SPIRIT AND BY THE TRUTH -THE WORD OF GOD

2 Thessalonians 2:13

[ Stand Firm ] But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

John 17:17
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
John 17:16-18 (in Context) John 17 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

John 17:19
And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
John 17:18-20 (in Context) John 17 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

 ABSTAIN FROM SEXUAL IMMORALITY

1 Thessalonians 4:3
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;
1 Thessalonians 4:2-4 (in Context) 1 Thessalonians 4 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

THE GOD OF PEACE SANCTIFIES YOU -BY HIS (JESUS) BLOOD

1 Thessalonians 5:23
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:22-24 (in Context) 1 Thessalonians 5 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
Hebrews 10:28-30 (in Context) Hebrews 10 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Hebrews 13:12
So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood.
Hebrews 13:11-13 (in Context) Hebrews 13 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

   BY FAITH, BELIEF, AND OBEDIENCE TO JESUS (RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD)

Acts 26:18
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
Acts 26:17-19 (in Context) Acts 26 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Romans 6:19
I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
Romans 6:18-20 (in Context) Romans 6 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Romans 6:22
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
Romans 6:21-23 (in Context) Romans 6 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations