A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day – July 24, 2019
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. (3 John 2)
I have exciting news for you! Jesus has redeemed us from the full curse of the law – not just part of it, but all of it! Let me explain.
The curse of the law, as described in Deuteronomy chapter 28, involved three things: 1) death, 2) sickness and disease, and 3) poverty. Jesus paid the price in full so that we could exchange the curse for the blessing. Instead of 1) death, 2) sickness and disease, and 3) poverty, He wants us to have 1) life, 2) health and healing, and 3) prosperity. Of course, the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10), but that is totally irrelevant (unless you want to believe a lie). It doesn’t matter what the enemy says. The price has been paid. We have been redeemed from the curse!!!
We were redeemed by Jesus taking on the fullness of the curse so that we could walk in the fullness of the blessing. He substituted Himself for each of the three parts of the curse and through His substitution He became our propitiation and redeemed us from the curse. He paid the price we could not pay. He did what we could not do. He completed what we could not complete.
But how did He do this? He became our substitute for the first third of the curse. He died so that we could live. He took on death on the cross so that we could take on life for eternity. When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, death is no longer in our future, because our old man was crucified on the cross with Jesus.
Jesus also substituted Himself for the second third of the curse. According to Isaiah 53 and 1 Peter 2:24, He sacrificed His body, He took on our infirmities, and He took on our pain, so that we could walk in the fullness of health and healing. By the stripes He received on His back, we were healed.
Likewise, Jesus took on the last one third of the curse. According to 2 Corinthians 8:9, even though He was rich, He became poor so that we, through His poverty, might become rich. Jesus, the King of Kings, was the one who had gold and precious spices delivered to Him as a child, the one who had a treasurer for His ministry, and the one who owned clothing so valuable that it was divided by the soldiers at His death. This same Jesus was stripped of all His earthly wealth, hung naked on a cross in poverty, and was buried in a borrowed grave. This same Jesus took on the curse of poverty that paid the price for our prosperity.
I am always amused when someone asks me if I am one of those “health and wealth” preachers. What is the alternative? Do they really want to follow and listen to a “sickness and poverty” preacher? Or do they want to receive the blessing of God? Of course, we all want the blessing!
While I do not feel that borrowing money is a sin, it is definitely under the curse. The Word says that we are to be the lenders and we shall not borrow. We are to be above and not beneath. We are to be the head and not the tail. (to be continued tomorrow)
