Galatians 3:13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”[h]), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Isa: 53:
4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him And by His stripes we are healed.
II corth 8: 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.
The whole issue of prosperity, sickness and disease, poverty and the confusion I read brings to light most christians do not understand the difference between the Old and New Covenant. Jesus, bore the curse of the Fall of Adam so those who accept him became in him. When you are in Christ you are an heir to all Jesus accomplished on the cross and his resurrection. To get a clear picture of God look at Jesus and how he was the exact representation of God in the Gospels. You will never see Jesus condoning or making people sick, revealing the will of the Father that he wants you poor, and that he wants us to suffer to bring glory to his kingdom.
Now, is there poverty, sickness and disease in this earth in the lives of christians? Do Christians suffer persecution? Does death come to christians, do tragic things happen? The answer is yes! But they ARE NOT from God. Paul was a perfect example of a man of God on this earth who was persecuted for the sake of the gospel. The key to understanding all this is the Power of the Sower found in Mark 4 and Matt 13. The word of God is the foundation for all truth. When Gods word goes forth about healing, poverty, persecution ect Satan comes immediately to steal that word sown in your life about the situation you are standing against. If you are facing poverty, then you can be sure Satan is behind it. Same goes with anything that comes to Kill, Steal and destroy.
Paul out lines this in II corth 12. The Chapter we know as the Thorn in the Flesh. Pauls thorn was a messenger sent by Satan to stop the Word of Christ from being exalted in the earth. Pauls abundance of revelations about Christ and him crucified caused the religious people to come against him and the message of the cross. Three times Paul sought God to take away this buffeting and God kept telling him, Paul my grace is sufficient for you. God was not saying hey this is from me, tough, He was saying Paul, stop trying to handle this in your own strength, allow my Grace to empower you. Paul then understood this principals and he went on to say, Oh, when I am weak (in flesh or trying to handle life carnally) I will say I am strong! (allowing Gods grace to empower him in all situations of life. If you go back one chapter to II corth 11 you will see what Paul went through for the cause of Christ. All Pauls troubles were at the hand of men and all were because he had a revelation of Christ and his resurrection. Jesus was a stumbling stone that all men trip over.
Are their believers in the body of Christ suffering. Yes, is God causing it? No. As believers we must begin to pray for our brothers and sister who are being persecuted for Christ. We are to send help and assistance to them no matter where in the World they are.
We must stop blaming God for the tragedy we see in this world in the lives of believers and non believers. As Christian we must understand what Jesus accomplished on the cross and as heirs what is ours in this life through Christ. We must stand firm against poverty, sickness, lack terror and fearful things. We must begin to be a light to a world that sees nothing but darkness. If we as christians are always sick, poor, broke and down trodden, then the world looks at us and says, why would I want that, I have that now.
We are not guaranteed a cake walk in this life, but we are told we are more than conquerors in Christ. We can face life headlong, living in victory, pressing through trials and thanking God for his provision in every area of life. It is very hard to trust a God who one minute is loving you, then the next killing you with poverty and sickness. It does not add up or even make sense.
Jesus is our example of a man living on this earth with the spirit of God living in him. Yes he died, but in his death he rose victorious so you and I can partake in the blessing and favor God provided for us in Christ.
Trucker
