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Those of you who visit GODSAIDMANSAID.COM on a relatively frequent basis have heard me say that inherent within God’s commandments and statutes are found a blessing or a curse. God is not sitting on a cloud waiting to drop down upon man a blessing or a curse, but in all cases the obedient or disobedient act by man opens the door to a good or evil result — a blessing or a curse. Moses spoke these beautiful words to the children of Israel in Deuteronomy, chapter 4, verses 5-8:
Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
Isn’t it amazing that no teaching, philosophy, or theology of man offered within the entire world’s educational system can compete with the perfection of the supernatural edicts of the King of Glory? God’s words in the majority-text Bible are simply the truth. To disobey is to open the door of destruction. Choose life and live. For life-changing information, click on to “Further With Jesus” on this website.
GOD SAID, Psalms, chapter 19, verses 7-11:
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
MAN SAID: The Bible is old, containing outdated writings of men. If he gives any credence to the word of God at all, it is couched in phrases such as “You shouldn’t take it literally,” or “In the original Hebrew it actually says,” or “The great miraculous stories in the Bible are allegories and not real accounts,” etc., etc.
Now THE RECORD. This may seem hard to fathom at first glance but the beauty of blessings and rewards is found in God’s warnings and restrictions. Contrary to some mindsets it must be noted clearly that no commandment of God was given for God’s own benefit (as benefit is measured in carnal minds), but for the benefit of those who obey. Concerning God’s judgments, in Psalms 19:11quoted above, it states:
Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
The secret place of great reward is discovered by those who take heed to God’s warnings.
God’s restraints are a demonstration of His love and concern for His children, somewhat akin to telling a little one not to touch the stove because it is hot. The child is cautioned not to touch the stove not because you don’t want him to touch the stove but for the reason that you don’t want him to be burned. Students of the scriptures are aware that God requires a child of His to give up those things which are harmful to him. God requires of us those things that we can’t handle. Obviously because He made man and created all other things as well, God knows exactly what is harmful and dangerous to man and commands him to flee from those damaging things. This perfect knowledge, declared by God thousands of years before it dawned on the minds of the scientific world, is just another proof after proof after proof of the existence of the God of the Holy Bible.
Proverbs, chapter 11, verse 19, reads:
As righteousness tendeth to life: so he that pursueth evil pursueth it to his own death.
Jesus Christ said He gives to those who follow Him, “life and life more abundantly.”
A great example of God’s directive, which was designed to keep His children from damage, is the blood sacrifice of the Old Testament. This sacrifice was a shadow and type of the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus Christ would make to redeem those who have also made a covenant (Psalms 50:5 and Romans 12:1) by sacrificing their own lives unto the service of Jesus Christ.
For example, the peace offering found in Leviticus 3 was an offering from the herd. The parts of the sacrifice that God required to be burned upon the altar unto Him were the fat, the two kidneys, and the caul above the liver. In addition, all blood was purged. Some of the blood was sprinkled upon the altar and the rest was poured out unto the LORD. The things that God required of the sacrifice were destroyed. The remainder of the offering — the parts good for human consumption — were eaten by the priest and his family and by the one who brought the sacrifice and his family. God requires of the sacrifice those things which cause harm to humans. Leviticus, chapter 3, verses 14-17, reads,
And he shall offer thereof his offering, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD; the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
And the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, which is by the flanks, and the caul above the liver, with the kidneys, it shall he take away.
And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savour: all the fat is the LORD’s.
It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.
God’s word reads in Romans, chapter 12, verse 1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” In Christ, we are living sacrifices and the things that God requires of these living sacrifices are those things which are harmful. God requires the things we can’t handle — that our bodies can’t handle physically — to be offered unto Him.
God wants us to sacrifice our stress unto Him because by design we are not able to handle it. We are instructed by God to shift our stress to Christ. This is accomplished by the supernatural process of faith. Jesus said in Matthew, chapter 11, verses 28-29, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” And then again the word of God records in Philippians, chapter 4, verse 6, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” By the way, these commandments were given thousands of years ago and man has just recently begun to understand the harmful ramifications of stress. The following excerpt is from “Rest From Stress,” on this website:
It is common knowledge that stress unchecked is a killer. In a June 14, 1999,
article, titled, “Stress,” the lead paragraph states, “A whole new body of research shows the damage stress wreaks on the body: not just heart disease and ulcers, but loss of memory, diminished immune function and even a particular type of obesity.”Dr. Sheldon Cohen conducted a study in 1991 at Carnegie Mellon University linking stress to immune dysfunction. He ran the study again in 1998. Test people were chosen and intentionally infected with a respiratory virus. Those who experienced chronic stress — ongoing conflicts with co-workers or family members, for example — increased their odds of getting sick by 300 to 500 percent.Men who said they were highly stressed were 60% more likely to have heart attacks and strokes than their unstressed counterparts.
God requires of us the things we can’t handle.
God wants us to sacrifice our anger unto Him because by design we are not able to handle it. Ephesians 4:26 reads, “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:” The following excerpt is from “Let Not The Sun Go Down Upon Your Wrath,” on this website:
Duke professor Dr. Redford Williams, author of “Anger Kills,” says research shows that those who have an angry response to everyday setbacks are 400 to 700% more likely to be dead of coronary disease and other causes by age 50. According to research in the Oct. 1, 1995 issue of
, the risk of suffering a heart attack is 2.3 times higher in the two hours following an episode of anger.
Only the designer and creator of mankind could have known the secrets of life and death, thousands of years before modern medical science begins to understand.
God wants us to sacrifice our grudges and bitterness unto him because by design we are not able to handle them. God commands in Matthew 5:44-48, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” The following excerpt is from “Grudges vs. Forgiveness...Death vs. Life,” on this website:
It was taken from a February 2002 article in
Magazine titled, “How Grudges Hurt You. Learn To Forgive, For Your Health’s Sake.” The first paragraph reads,
Researchers at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, studied 71 subjects who mentally relived hurtful memories but this time with two alternative endings: harboring a grudge and forgiving. The researchers measured their heart rates, blood pressure, perspiration and cataloged their emotions. Again quoting from the article:
Dr. C. Witvliet, assistant professor of psychology at the college had this to say regarding the study:
And finally the doctor said:
God requires of us the things we can’t handle.
God wants us to sacrifice lust, hate, complaining, fear, vain glory, unbelief, slothfulness, backbiting, evil surmisings, etc., etc., because by design we are not able to handle these things. The creator of the universe knows it and has given fair warning to all of mankind in the humans’ owner’s manual...the Holy Bible. In its warnings and restrictions are found the blessings and rewards.
GOD SAID in Psalms, chapter 19, verses 7-11,
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
MAN SAID that the Bible is old, containing outdated writings of men. If he gives any credence to the word of God at all, it is couched in phrases such as “You shouldn’t take it literally,” or “In the original Hebrew it actually says,” or “The great miraculous stories in the Bible are allegories and not real accounts,” etc., etc.
Now you have THE RECORD.
References:
King James Bible
www.godsaidmansaid.com