LESSON 36

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The Commanded Blessing

 

Deut. 28:8  The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and He will bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

 

The blessings of God are tied to being under authority.  You don't have the right of authority until you are under authority.  Why is it, that when God speaks, things happen?  This must mean that God is under authority.  We know that Jesus was under authority; as well as the Holy Spirit and the apostles.  Who or what is the Father under authority to?

 

Psa. 138:2  I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

 

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The word ‘name’ here is translated authority.  It speaks of who a person is, not just what they are called.  It speaks of their authority and their honor. 

The Father has submitted Himself to the Word of truth.  Because the Father bound Himself to the Word of truth, He has the right of authority so that when He speaks it must come to pass.  When we bind ourselves to truth; we have the right that when we speak, it must come to pass.

 

The devil is a liar.  He has been ripping people off in the church by getting them to come out from under their authority.  This is why many homes are falling apart.  Wives have pulled themselves out from under the authority of their husbands.  As a result they have lost their authority, their husbands, their jobs, and many have gone on welfare.  When children stopped submitting to their parents, they lost their right to freedom and to peace.  Now they are killing each other and dying by the millions. 

 

After the episodes with Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggert, many of the Christians stopped trusting their pastors, pulled back their financial gifts and began spending it on themselves.  Every other television ministry lost at least 40% of their income.  In the early 1980's, America was giving more to missions than ever before.  It's interesting that after people withheld their finances from missions, the American economy went drastically downhill.   When the church went off track, the nation suffered.

 

When the church operates under the authority of God, they become fruitful, multiply, replenish, subdue, and have dominion.  Because we pulled back from authority in the early 1980's, ungodliness became rampant in America. 

 

God is speaking to us to fear not.  He isn’t asking us to trust in man, but to trust in Him.  God is big enough to speak to your authority on your behalf.

 

When we say that we don’t trust our pastor, we are really saying that we do not trust God’s ability to speak to our pastor on our behalf.  We don’t think He is a big enough God to get through to our pastor despite any flaws he may have.  We are not trusting God!

 

Rom. 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God ,  to them who are called according to [His] purpose.

 

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The devil has attacked the relationship between the members of the church and their pastors through some rare examples, such as Jimmy Jones and David Koresh. 

 

When you submit to your authority, it enables your authority to fight on your behalf.  God will speak to your authority about you and give him insight into your situation. 

 

God commands us to "fear not" 365 times in the Bible.  One command for every day of the year.  Declare a war on fear.  The commanded blessing only comes to those who have submitted to authority.  We have not come to do our will, but the will of Him who sent me.

 

John 6:38    For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me.

 

We will not always feel led when our pastor sends us to do things.  That doesn’t matter.  It matters that we are being sent. 

 

Sometimes we may feel led to do something, but we still must submit it to our pastor, then he can send us.  We are not to just go out and do it.  We need to be sent. 

 

God is positioning us to receive the commanded blessing.  It is from the point of being under authority and being sent, that we are positioned to receive God’s commanded blessing.

 

Some of us need to start giving like we really believe God is going to bless us.  The tithe is not an offering.  It belongs to God.  It opens the windows of heaven.

 

When we complain about not being able to pay our bills if we tithe, we are saying that God’s plan isn’t good enough for us.  We believe that if we do it God’s way, it won’t work.  We try to go another way, our way.  We begin to operate in fear.

 

Some of us don’t even give offerings.  We need to get our priorities straight.  Not giving offerings is the second robbery.  It is the thing from which our blessings are measured back to us.  The tithe opens the windows of heaven.  The offering releases the blessing.

 

Some of us are going to begin to give larger offerings above and beyond the tithe.  Some will begin giving an extra 10% to 20% without being wrapped up in keeping track of how it is being spent.  It is not a gift if you try to dictate how it is spent.  That is an investment.

 

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We need to live in the place where we stop tipping God and give real offerings.  We need to give no matter what our circumstances say.  God requires us to give even when finances are tight.  We need to trust God and not our circumstances.

 

God desires to bless us.  He wants us to be blessed so that we may be a blessing to others.  To receive this blessing we must set aside fear, come under our proper authority, and be obedient in our giving.

As we are submitted to God’s authority, we have the right to command the blessings of God to come.  We have the right to the best deals.  We have the right to the best interest rates.  We have the right to speak to our bank accounts and command them to be fruitful and to multiply.  We have the right to speak to our circumstances and to command them to change and line up with the promises of God.

 

With our hands lifted, let’s pray together.

 

Father, in the name of Jesus, we believe that it is your season for the commanded blessing to be released in our lives, in our church, in our cities, and in our region.  Father, we understand that we don’t have the right of the authority of the blessing, until we are under authority.  We choose to come under the authority of the pastor that You have set us under.  You gave them to us, to perfect and equip us.  Speak to our pastors with visions.  Father,  we choose now to come not to do our own will, but the will of the house that sends us.  Father forgive us for our selfish squandering of your gifts.  We submit them to You and Your authority.  As we come under authority, we know we will have the right to exercise authority, and the wealth of the world belongs to the church.  Your Word says it.  Your Word declares it.  I have a right to the commanded blessings of God as I submit, and I choose to submit to the will of the house You have placed me in, to be fed, in Jesus Name.

 

Begin to pray in other tongues and begin to die to your own will and submit to the will of your church and your pastor.  Lift your hands and receive the commanded blessing.

 

In Review:

1.  Who are your blessings from God tied to?  ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2.  When do you have the right of authority?  _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3.  To what or whom is the Father bound Himself to giving Him the right of authority?

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4.  What does the word “name” literally mean?

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5.  Who do the commanded blessings belong to?

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