God Is Good
Destined to Live Like a King
Written by Gloria Copeland
If you
are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land (Isaiah
1:19).
The simple message that God is good often worries traditional, religious people. It bothers them when faith preachers say that God wants His people healed, prosperous and blessed in every way.
I realize that sounds strange, but it has always been true. Years ago, when Brother Oral Roberts first began preaching, a fellow minister complained. "I wish he wouldn't preach that God is a good God," he said. "People will get the wrong idea!"
That minister was afraid, like so many are today, that people will hear that message and start expecting too much. They think gullible people will get the idea that God wants us all to live like kings.
Personally, I'm not afraid of that.
God's will and plan to bless His people can be seen from Genesis to Revelation. If you'll read the Book, you'll see that man has never had to shout up at heaven and say, "Hey God, I want to be blessed so let's make a deal. I'll do these certain things and You give me good things in return. How about it?"
.
No, that's a scene you'll never see in the Bible because God always beats man to the punch. Blessing was originally His idea!
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Look at the Book of Genesis and you can see what I mean. There, in the first few chapters, we find God doing His will unhindered in the earth. We find Him making things exactly like He wants them. Now He could have made man before He created anything else. He could have put him in the middle of a barren, desolate place and waited for man to beg Him for a few meager crumbs to live on, but that's not what God did. He created the earth in all its fullness first, and Genesis 1:31 says, "God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good...."
Stop and think about that for a moment. God didn't make one bad thing. He didn't say, "Well, I'll need to teach man some things through sickness so I guess I'd better put a little cancer in the earth." He didn't say, "I'll need to teach man some humility, so I'll throw in a little poverty."
No! When God had His way, everything was good. That's because HE IS good! He is totally innocent and
God created the earth and every good thing in it as a gift for man, and when it was finished, "the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed" (Genesis 2:8).
Initial Perfection
I want you to know, man had it made in the Garden of Eden! He had such close communion with God that God Himself came to fellowship with him in the cool of the evening.
Man's every need and desire was abundantly supplied. He had perfect food that grew on trees. The temperature was ideal. His surroundings were
exquisitely beautiful. Adam had a perfect wife. Eve had a perfect husband. And together they had authority over the whole earth.
There was only one thing man had to do to remain in that blessed condition. All He had to do was believe and obey the Word of God.
"And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17).
God never changes. He has always operated just like He did in the Garden of Eden. He has always given His Word to mankind. We can either accept that Word or reject it. If we accept it by believing and acting on it, things will go well with us. If we reject it, we are in
trouble.
Adam and Eve chose to reject the Word of God. They chose to listen to the devil instead.
Up to that moment, the devil had absolutely no authority in the earth. He couldn't touch them. He couldn't harm them in any way. If Adam and Eve had said, "devil, you get out of this garden!" Satan wouldn't have had any choice. He would have been forced to obey them because God had given them rulership of the earth.
Don't Frustrate the Will of God
Even after that door was opened, God's will didn't change. He still desired for His people to be blessed. He wanted them to live like kings in the earth, not like slaves to the devil. He wanted them to be healthy, wealthy and free.
So what did He do? The same thing He has always done. He found a man named Abram who would believe His Word and made him a promise.
But if Abram had been blinded by religious tradition, he might have missed out on the blessing God had provided for him. He might have said, "Oh no, Lord. I'm just a humble man. I don't need much. All I ask is that You give me grace to bear the sufferings of this life." .
There was only one thing man had to do to remain in that blessed condition. All He had to do was believe and obey the Word of God.
"And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17).
God never changes. He has always operated just like He did in the Garden of Eden. He has always given His Word to mankind. We can either accept that Word or reject it. If we accept it by believing and acting on it, things will go well with us. If we reject it, we are in
Adam and Eve chose to reject the Word of God. They chose to listen to the devil instead.
Up to that moment, the devil had absolutely no authority in the earth. He couldn't touch them. He couldn't harm them in any way. If Adam and Eve had said, "devil, you get out of this garden!" Satan wouldn't have had any choice. He would have been forced to obey them because God had given them rulership of the earth.
Don't Frustrate the Will of God
Even after that door was opened, God's will didn't change. He still desired for His people to be blessed. He wanted them to live like kings in the earth, not like slaves to the devil. He wanted them to be healthy, wealthy and free.
So what did He do? The same thing He has always done. He found a man named Abram who would believe His Word and made him a promise.
But if Abram had been blinded by religious tradition, he might have missed out on the blessing God had provided for him. He might have said, "Oh no, Lord. I'm just a humble man. I don't need much. All I ask is that You give me grace to bear the sufferings of this life." .
Do you know what Abram would have done by responding that way? He would have frustrated the will of God!
You see, it was God's will to multiply him. It was God's will to make him rich. It was God's will to give him his heart's desire, a son, and make him the father of many nations. But God couldn't give those things to Abram unless he agreed by faith to receive them.
The same is true for us today. God cannot drop blessings on us just because He wants. He has offered us a covenant of blessing just like He did Abraham. But He can only bring forth those blessings to the extent that we keep, believe in and act on, His Word.
God Gets Glory When We're Blessed
For a few generations, Abraham's children held onto the word God had given their father. As long as they kept that word, they were blessed just as Abraham was.
But eventually that word slipped away from them, and since it is the only means of escaping the curse that came on the earth through Adam's sin, the Israelites began to suffer the effects of that curse. Instead of living in affluence, freedom and power as their forefathers did, they were afflicted as slaves in the nation of Egypt.
But that didn't change God's will. His will for the nation of Israel was the same as it was for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It was the same as it had been for Abraham. God wanted them all to live a life of blessing and abundance. He wanted them to live like kings. So what did He do? He did just what He has always done. He sent them His Word. Through the prophet Moses He gave them precepts and instructions and said, "If you'll hearken diligently to My voice and do what I say, I will set you on high above all nations of the earth" (see Deuteronomy 28:1).
Notice, He told them to be diligent about His Word. That's because the curse was out there working 24 hours a day. The devil is diligent in his destructive work. So they had to be diligent about the things of God.
He said they'd be blessed when they came in and when they went out. Their enemies would flee before them in all directions. Their finances and everything they put their hand to would be blessed.
God didn't leave anything out of the blessing of Deuteronomy 28!
You see, it was God's will to multiply him. It was God's will to make him rich. It was God's will to give him his heart's desire, a son, and make him the father of many nations. But God couldn't give those things to Abram unless he agreed by faith to receive them.
The same is true for us today. God cannot drop blessings on us just because He wants. He has offered us a covenant of blessing just like He did Abraham. But He can only bring forth those blessings to the extent that we keep, believe in and act on, His Word.
God Gets Glory When We're Blessed
For a few generations, Abraham's children held onto the word God had given their father. As long as they kept that word, they were blessed just as Abraham was.
But eventually that word slipped away from them, and since it is the only means of escaping the curse that came on the earth through Adam's sin, the Israelites began to suffer the effects of that curse. Instead of living in affluence, freedom and power as their forefathers did, they were afflicted as slaves in the nation of Egypt.
But that didn't change God's will. His will for the nation of Israel was the same as it was for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It was the same as it had been for Abraham. God wanted them all to live a life of blessing and abundance. He wanted them to live like kings. So what did He do? He did just what He has always done. He sent them His Word. Through the prophet Moses He gave them precepts and instructions and said, "If you'll hearken diligently to My voice and do what I say, I will set you on high above all nations of the earth" (see Deuteronomy 28:1).
Notice, He told them to be diligent about His Word. That's because the curse was out there working 24 hours a day. The devil is diligent in his destructive work. So they had to be diligent about the things of God.
He said they'd be blessed when they came in and when they went out. Their enemies would flee before them in all directions. Their finances and everything they put their hand to would be blessed.
God didn't leave anything out of the blessing of Deuteronomy 28!
In spite of Satan's authority over the world at that time, God made a way through His Word for His people to live the most wonderful life in this earth that anyone could imagine. He desired for His people to be so blessed that the whole world would know just by looking at them they belonged to God.
Think about that. When God's people are blessed, He receives the respect He deserves from the rest the world. Even the ungodly are forced to say, "Hey, those people serve a living, powerful God. He makes everything they touch prosper. They might start out at the bottom of the barrel, but their God always makes them rise to the top. We'd better not mess with them!"
God Isn't Worried
"But Gloria," you say, "that's Old Covenant."
Really, that's the nature and will of God and He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
Think about that. When God's people are blessed, He receives the respect He deserves from the rest the world. Even the ungodly are forced to say, "Hey, those people serve a living, powerful God. He makes everything they touch prosper. They might start out at the bottom of the barrel, but their God always makes them rise to the top. We'd better not mess with them!"
God Isn't Worried
"But Gloria," you say, "that's Old Covenant."
Really, that's the nature and will of God and He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
You find it in the New Covenant too. He still wants His people healthy and strong. That's why by Jesus' stripes we were healed (1 Peter 2:24).
God still wants His people prosperous. That's why we can give so cheerfully. We know that...
"God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to (us) in abundance, so that (we) may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need, be self-sufficient (possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation)!" (2 Corinthians 9:8 AMP).
Romans 5:17 clearly says He still wants us to live and reign like kings. And now, because of the covenant blood of Jesus and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can do it, not just physically, but spiritually too.
He's waited 6,000 years for that desire to be fulfilled. But it's about to happen. At last, God's will is about to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
So set your traditions and fears aside. Make up your mind to live uprightly before Him. Grab onto the Word in faith and hold onto your hat because you're about to be BLESSED!
"God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to (us) in abundance, so that (we) may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need, be self-sufficient (possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation)!" (2 Corinthians 9:8 AMP).
Romans 5:17 clearly says He still wants us to live and reign like kings. And now, because of the covenant blood of Jesus and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can do it, not just physically, but spiritually too.
He's waited 6,000 years for that desire to be fulfilled. But it's about to happen. At last, God's will is about to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
So set your traditions and fears aside. Make up your mind to live uprightly before Him. Grab onto the Word in faith and hold onto your hat because you're about to be BLESSED!
. .
If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land (Isaiah 1:19).
God reveals Himself to mankind in the role of a Father in several contexts. The most important is that of a spiritual Father.
Thus, Christians experience a God who expresses all the qualities of a loving Father.
- He gives us life (John 3:3);
- He loves us (John 3:16);
- He rewards our efforts (Hebrews 11:6);
- He communicates with us through His Word ( John 17:17; Ephesians 1:13; Colossians 1:5; 1 Thessalonians 2:13);
- He corrects us lovingly (Hebrews 12:3-11); and, most important,
God will grant us the ultimate gift, eternal life in His Kingdom through His grace if we repent of our sins and obey His commands .
To experience God as a personal, caring, loving Father, you have to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. You will become a child of God and begin the fulfillment of the reason you were created by God.
Say the following prayer:
“Father God, I confess I am a sinner and my sins have separated me from You.
I am truly sorry. I now want to turn away from my past sinful life and live a new life pleasing to You.
Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again.
I believe that your Son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer.
I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Thank You that according to Your Word, I am now Your child, and I am born again.
Please send Your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life.
Please use me for Your glory.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.”
http://www.cfaith.com/index.php/23-articles/victory/19169-destined-to-live-like-a-k
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