THE ISRAEL OF GOD Funny how people; Christians especially, grab at blessings written in the Bible and are quick to reject curses marked in the same verses. Blessings and curses are an important part of Bible teachings. We need not live in a world of turmoil, but we can know the good things that God delights to give. On the other hand, evil will not go unpunished. All of God’s promises are firmly rooted in a covenant setting. Every child of God is in a state of blessedness only by a covenant relationship with The Father. What usually disrupts this status is the issue of identity. In his letter of exaltation to the Church in Rome, Apostle Paul points out, “Well then, has God failed to fulfill his promise to Israel? No, for not all who are born into the nation of Israel are truly members of God's people!” Romans 9:6 (NLT).Being physical descents of Abraham do not guarantee God’s blessings. No one becomes God’s children through human parentage but only by faith. God’s election is His invitation, for humans to enter His promises- He requires your response, whether you are ‘Pastor’s kid’ or not! The Jews were the most prepared than any other nation to receive Jesus Christ- they had plenty of the Torah and other religious books; they had a chain of prophets like you have Sunday services, Bible studies, Discipleship programs, prayer meetings, every emphasis is laid of this message of salvation- Of course, people fill up Churches for various reasons. It is only the chosen that are distinct. God calls us to salvation, only those that have received Jesus by faith are not part of the mixed multitude. To those who apply to God’s teaching, “Peace and mercy be upon all who walk by this rule [who discipline themselves and regulate their lives by this principle], even upon the [true] Israel of God!” Galatians 6:16 (AMP). Every physical Church has a mixed multitude- the passion with which ministers of God give God’s message is sheer absurdity and folly to those who are perishing and on their stubborn way to perdition. Only those that are the true Israel of God, receive as God’s manifestation of His power. Jesus is God’s Wisdom personified- a wisdom that was very different from what the philosophers of the time thought to be. Righteousness, Redemption and Holiness are definitions of what Wisdom is and the accompanying qualities. Christ embodies all three! The Israel that God is referring to as His own are those that their hearts had been a highway for the gospel of salvation; the good ground; those who hear the Word and bear good fruits of Righteousness! The faithful remnant; whether Jew or Gentile is the chosen of God to occupy and dominate this Promised Land. Same descents that were privileged of the Law at Mt. Sinai, they were called to be a blessing to all the rest of the human race and the Torah was the collection of instructions by which they would work out this calling. Those that had the guts to sing even though they were held captives in a strange land, by the rivers of Babylon, they saw their faith in the One God as that which should be propagated among other nations. Only the true Israel of God is the Church that Christ is coming for, those that will never compromise their stand on things of God, those that do not care what benefits they stand to forfeit would look eyeball to eyeball at their tempters and say NO, act it and mean it! SELAH…. Not all that ever had Abraham as their grandfather, but the true Israel of God, who will put God’s divine plan into effect. The Church of God universal are inheritors of His covenant promises, with the vocation to be a blessing to all mankind. Abraham’s true sons are not Jews who claim relationship with him, yet live by the law (for mere knowledge of the Word kills), but Christians who live by faith, those that God’s Spirit has given life. “Know and understand that it is [really] the people [who live] by faith who are [the true] sons of Abraham” Galatians 3:7 (AMP). …“do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, ' We have Abraham for our father'; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham”. Matthew 3:9 (NASU). Hath thou an Israel of God? I am not contesting that you are an offspring of Abraham, neither is Moses available to go bring tablets from God. Grace has made God to write His instructions on our hearts. There is no pretense before God that you cannot tell between good and evil. “It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it”. Deuteronomy 30:12-14 (NIV) Are you an Israel of God? The Truth that you already know will set you free and will nullify those malicious facts of your life. “It's written, I'll turn conventional wisdom on its head, I'll expose so-called experts as crackpots. So where can you find someone truly wise, truly educated, truly intelligent in this day and age? Hasn't God exposed it all as pretentious nonsense?” 1 Corinthians 1:19-20 (THE MESSAGE) Are you an Israel of God? Whatever state you are, sing the songs of the Lord. Even while in a foreign land, Sing only the songs of Zion, do not hang your harps, never allow any form of distraction from giving God your true worship. 'The nations will realize that I, God, make Israel holy when my holy place of worship is established at the center of their lives forever.'" Ezekiel 37:28 THE MESSAGE "Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!” Deuteronomy 30:19 (NLT) To the twelve tribes scattered in every nation of the world: Greetings! ayanfeLAMPROS. NOTE: AMP (Amplified Bible version) NIV (New International Version) NLT (New Living Translation) TLB (The Living Bible) NASU (New American Standard Bible)