Lesson 5


IDENTIFICATIONAL REPENTANCE


A. Introduction: What is identificational repentance and why is it important for Church revival?
Identificational repentance is “repentance done on behalf of others by identifying with their sins and confessing such sins before the Lord.”

God cannot bless a person or a group of people as long as they live in sin.
And such people, whether in our families, in our office, in the church or in our land, are not able to confess their sins as they do not know God and His laws.
Some may indeed know God and His laws, but yet may be unwilling or unable to repent.
For such people, God has given us the authority to repent on their behalf so that He may spare them and revive them and will not have to judge them.

Identificational repentance is the greatest key that the risen Lord has given to His Church at large to bring revival to the Church and transformation to the nations.
Yet most of us are not aware of this great weapon in our hands.
And many zealous believers have become frustrated at the sin abounding in the land, besetting those in and outside the Church, without realizing that we have this powerful weapon in our hands to change the status quo.

Just as God will not bless us individually unless we repent of our sins personally, so likewise God cannot answer our prayers for the people around us unless we repent on their behalf.
Just as no believer can bypass personal repentance and expects to be blessed, so likewise we cannot bypass indentifcational repentance on behalf of others if we want God to touch and change and transform them.

B. Objectives of this lesson
The objectives of this lesson are as follows:

• To teach a believer the authority we have been given to do identificational repentance.
• To teach a believer the immense blessings released through identificational repentance.
• To teach a believer how identificational repentance is done.

C. The scriptural basis for identificational repentance
In His word, God has authorized us to do identificational repentance.
In the Old Testament, the one doing identificational repentance is referred to as “one standing in the gap.”
In the New Testament, the risen Lord also gave the same authority to His New Covenant Church.
However, in our lack of understanding, we have not made use of this mighty weapon, nor has the Church at large been taught how to use it.

1. Identificational repentance in the Old Testament
In the Old Testament, God looked for a man to stand in the gap on behalf of the land of Israel so that He would not have to destroy it.

EZEKIEL 22:30
30 I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before Me in the gap on behalf of the land so that I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.

Because of sin in the land, a breach or a gap in the spiritual wall surrounding the land had formed whereby the enemy can come in to destroy God’s people.
However, God’s word here reveals to us that if “one man” can stand in the gap on behalf of the land, He will forgive the sins of the people and not judge the land.
For God to forgive the sins of the people, the person standing in the gap must identify with the sins of the people in the land and repent on their behalf.
This is identificational repentance.

2. Identificational repentance in the New Testament
When our Lord rose from the dead, He authorized His followers to remit the sins of others or to pronounce the sins of others forgiven.
This was the first and greatest delegation of His authority to His Church at large so that we may successfully build His kingdom on this earth.

JOHN 20:21-23, NKJ
21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained [Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them, and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained, KJV].”

This authority to remit the sins of others, whether in your family, your church, your office, or of those in the land, allows God to forgive them and to bless them.
When we exercise this authority to remit the sins of others, God has the legal right to bless them, change them and revive them without having to judge them.

The implication of this authority to remit the sins of others is that we must identify first with their sins and confess their sins before God on their behalf.
Only then can God forgive their sins.
Only then can we pronounce their sins remitted or forgiven.
This is in line with God’s great desire in the Old Testament for His children to stand in the gap on behalf of the sinners in the land, so that He may spare the people.
Thus we see that identificational repentance of behalf of sinners is a weapon that has been delegated to us by the Lord Jesus Himself when He rose from the dead.

D. The immense blessings released through identificational repentance
In His word, God has revealed to us that just one man can change the destiny of a nation through identificational repentance.
God will spare a nation from judgement if he can find just one man to stand in the gap on behalf of the land.
That is how much blessings an individual can bring to others if he is willing to take up the ministry of identificational repentance.

EZEKIEL 22:30
30 I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before Me in the gap on behalf of the land so that I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.

If a man were to stand in the gap on behalf of the people of the land, or of his neighbours, or of those in the Church, or of his loved ones, God will forgive their sins and not judge them.
Instead, God will be given the legal right to intervene and to bless those we are interceding for, in accordance with our prayer requests.
We will then begin to see the move of God in our families, in our churches, in our cities and in our land, saving them, reviving them and transforming them.

E. How identificational repentance is done
In His word, God has given us many examples of godly men who identified with the sins of the people of God and repented on their behalf.
As they did so, God intervened and answered their prayers.

1. Daniel’s example of identificational repentance
When Daniel the prophet was in exile in Babylon, and when he wanted God to deliver the exiles of Israel from Babylon, he identified with their sins and repented on their behalf.

This was how he prayed:

DANIEL 9:1-21
3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with Him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with all who love Him and obey His commands,
5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws.

17 "Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary.
18 Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.
19 O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name."

20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill,
21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.

2. Nehemiah’s example of identificational repentance
Nehemiah’s prayer of identificational repentance on behalf of the exiles of Israel is quite similar to that of Daniel, and is as follows:

NEHEMIAH 1:4-11
4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

5 Then I said: "O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands,
6 let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you.
7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.

11 O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man." I was cupbearer to the king.

In summary, we note that both Daniel and Nehemiah confessed the sins of the people of God as if the sins of the people were their own sins.
This is identificational repentance.

.........................................

TESTIMONY

Sister N's Miracle: "God Set My Daughter On Fire For the Lord."
(July 2005)

"When my daughter was younger, she was very zealous for the Lord. But in recent years, after she went to the university, she backslided. I prayed for her for many years, but the answer did not manifest.

"I shared with my sister recently about this and she suggested that we repent on her behalf whenever we prayed for her (identificational repentance). God answered our prayers, and now she is on fire for the Lord again and is serving faithfully in another church.

"When she backslided, she was struggling with her studies in the university. Now that she is on fire for the Lord, God has blessed her in return with His wisdom and she is now top in her courses.

Hallelujah!!!"

Lesson 4


PERSONAL REPENTANCE


A. Introduction: Why is personal repentance important?
Repentance must become the daily lifestyle of a true disciple of Jesus.
A believer who does not repent of his sins everyday will soon find that his sins have opened a door to the devil to kill, steal and destroy in his life, leading to constant failure and defeat.

A true disciple of Jesus is one who obeys everything that our Lord Jesus has commanded us.
And the Lord has commanded us to repent everyday so that we may walk in the riches of God’s kingdom (Matthew 4:17).
Only in this way can we be blessed and be a blessing to others.

MATTHEW 4:17
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say,
“Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.”

The following are some of the truths of personal repentance that we must practice in our lives everyday, so as to grow to be a true disciple of Jesus:

• Repent daily of our own sins.
• Repent from our heart.
• Repent as soon as the Holy Spirit points out our sins to us.
• Forgive all those who have hurt us and be reconciled with them.
• Do not worship God or pray any further until you have reconciled yourself with another brother who has something against you.
• If God has not answered your prayers for healing and deliverance as soon as you asked the Lord, wait on the Holy Spirit and ask Him to point out any area of sin in your life that has hindered your prayers.
• Ask God for grace everyday to repent and to obey him from the heart.
• Hate sin just as God hates sin.

B. Objectives of this lesson
The objectives of this lesson are as follows:

• To teach a believer how to practice personal repentance everyday.
• To teach a believer where he is not doing personal repentance everyday.
• To teach a believer the false excuses we give for not practicing personal repentance everyday.

C. Repent daily of your own sins
In the Lord’s Prayer, our Lord Jesus taught us to seek forgiveness from God everyday for our own sins.
He taught us to do this so that we will continue to walk in the blessings of God, and not come under the curses of the Law.
He taught us to do this so that we will not open a door to the devil to harm or destroy us.

MATTHEW 6:9-12
9 This, then, is how you should pray:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

D. Repent from your heart
Do not repent for the sake of making a show of repentance, because others expect it of us, thereby speaking words that do not arise from the heart.
When you confess your sins, speak to God from your heart.
Truly feel sorry for grieving God with your sin.
Ask God for grace and strength never to repeat the sin again.
Whatever you say with your lips must come from your heart.
Otherwise you will just be a hypocrite, who does not mean what he says.

MATTHEW 15:7
7 [Jesus said]: “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’ ”

MATTHEW 18:35
35 [Jesus said]: “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

E. Repent as soon as the Holy Spirit points out our sins to us
The Holy Spirit has been sent by the Father and the Son to live in every child of God to lead us into all truth.
When we sin, the Holy Spirit is grieved and He will speak to our conscience concerning our sins.
We must respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit instantly by repenting of the sins that He points out to us.

JOHN 16:13
13 [Jesus said] “But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth.”

GALATIANS 5:16, NKJ
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

F. Forgive all those who have hurt us and be reconciled with them
If we want God to forgive us our sins, we must also forgive those who have sinned against us.
If we do not forgive them, God will also not forgive us our sins and we will continue to suffer the curses of the Law as long as we have unforgiveness in our hearts.
If those who have hurt you are still living, be reconciled with them by seeking forgiveness from them for you bitterness against them.

MATTHEW 6:14-15
14 [Jesus said]: “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

G. Do not worship God or pray any further until you have reconciled yourself with another brother who has something against you
If the Holy Spirit points out to you directly or through others that a brother has something against you, you must go and be reconciled with him.
Jesus our Lord has commanded us to not even worship or pray any further until we have settled with our brother any grievances he has against us.
Do not give any excuses for not obeying the Lord’s command and sin in your pride and disobedience.
God will not listen to our prayers as long as we sin and do not make up with another brother who has something against us.

MATTHEW 5:23
23 Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift.

H. If God has not answered your prayers for healing and deliverance as soon as you asked the Lord, wait on the Holy Spirit and ask Him to point out any area of sin in your life that has hindered your prayers
If God has not answered your prayers for healing or for success in your business and work, then you need to seek the Holy Spirit for the hindrances to your prayers.
If you have been praying according to the Lord’s promises, and God’s miracles are not forthcoming, then the problem is on our side.

Do not pray any further, for more prayer is not going to change God.
God is not weak nor is He deaf.
Instead, seek God honestly and let Holy Spirit point out any sins in your life, whether in thought, word or deed, that you may need to repent of.
Then quickly and humbly repent and turn back to the ways of the Lord.

PSALM 66:18
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

ISAIAH 59:1-2
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save nor His ear too dull to hear,
2 but your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.

I. Ask God for grace everyday to repent and to obey him from the heart
We need the grace of God everyday to repent.
By ourselves and depending on our own will-power and strength to repent, we will fail.

God wants us to walk in victory over sin and to overcome all sin in our lives.
And out of His grace, He will give us the strength and desire to repent of every sin, no matter how difficult it is.
The grace of God is sufficient for us to walk in continuous victory over sin everyday.
Just cry out to Him everyday and He will be there to help us.

2 CORINTHIANS 12:9
9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

J. Hate sin just as God hates sin
Our God is a holy God and He hates sin.
It is sin that has separated Him from fellowshipping with His own creation, including you and me.
It is sin that has caused God to send His only Son to die on the cross and to suffer for our sins in order to bring us back to Himself.
And it is sin that has given the devil the legal right to destroy the lives of the people in this world, all of whom He created for Himself.

If God hates sin so much, how can we His children tolerate sin in our own lives, in our families or in the church?
If we begin to hate sin as God hates sin, we will not have the desire to sin against God.
We must therefore ask God for His revelation about His hatred towards sin, so that we will no longer treat sin lightly.
Instead, we must ask God for the heart to always grieve over sin just as He grieves over sin in our lives.

PSALM 97:10
10 Let those who love the LORD hate evil,
for He guards the lives of His faithful ones
and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

PROVERBS 6:16-19
16 There are six things the LORD hates,
seven that are detestable to Him:
17 haughty eyes,
a lying tongue,
hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,
feet that are quick to rush into evil,
19 a false witness who pours out lies
and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

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TESTIMONY

Sister Healed Of Severe Migraine


When we first started meeting in our home more than 15 years ago, a sister and her family from another church would come to worship with us on a Sunday because of her sickness.
She would have severe migraine if she were to travel to her own church outside our housing estate and was exposed to the mid-day sun.
She would have to suffer for many hours in a darkened room with the curtains drawn shut whenever she had this problem.
This was also the problem she always faced whenever she returned to her hometown in Taiping.

When she related her problem to me after I came to know her family, I taught her about the sin of idolatry and witchcraft that opens a door for demons to attack us and put sicknesses on us.
She repented of all her past involvement in idolatry and witchcraft, and I prayed for her deliverance and healing.
She then left for her hometown Taiping that very Sunday.

Two weeks later, she testified that for the first time in her life, she did not have migraine when she went back to Taiping.
She had not seen me earlier because she could not believe in her healing miracle and wanted to make sure that it was for real before she came back to testify to me about the healing.
She was indeed totally healed of her sickness and because of her healing, she returned to her church in Penang as she can now travel under the mid-day sun.

Hallelujah!!! Glory to God!!!

Lesson 3

REPENTANCE AND THE BLOOD OF JESUS


A. Introduction: Why is repentance able to open instantly to us the door to the riches of the kingdom of God?
When He first started preaching during His earthly ministry, Jesus our Lord declared that repentance is the key to the riches of God’s kingdom.
It seems so simple, but it is true.
Repentance alone will bring to us an open heaven everyday, with a continuous flow of the blessings and riches and glory of God’s kingdom into our lives.
Jesus has said that it is so, and therefore it must be so (Matthew 4:17).

MATTHEW 4:17
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

The reason why repentance alone is enough to open up the riches of God is that Jesus has shed His blood on the cross for all men on this earth.
It is the blood of Jesus that has obtained for us the forgiveness of sins and all the riches of the New Covenant.
It is the blood of Jesus that has set us free from the curses of the Law of God.
And all these blessings are ours when we repent and confess our sins to God.

When Jesus was hanging on the cross, and has shed His blood for us, He accomplished for all men what the Father has sent Him to do.
He finished the work of redemption of men from their sins and curses (John 19:30).
Through His blood, He has restored back to man the presence, the power and the glory of God.

JOHN 19:30, NKJ
30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

B. Objectives of this lesson
The objectives of this lesson are as follows:

• To teach a believer that he has forgiveness of sin through the blood of Jesus.
• To teach a believer that all his curses have been removed through the blood of Jesus.
• To teach a believer that all the riches of God’s kingdom belong to him through the blood of Jesus

C. Forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus
It is our sins that separate us from God’s presence, His kingdom, His power and His glory.
It is our sins that have put us under the curses of the Law of God.
It is our sins that have caused many believers to die from incurable diseases.
It is our sins that have caused many to die premature, accidental deaths and leave behind widows and young, fatherless children.
It is our sins that have opened a door for the devil to kill, steal and destroy in our lives and in our families.

But praise be to God, Jesus died on the cross for our sins.
Jesus paid the penalty for our sins on the cross, becoming the sacrifice for our sins.
He was punished by God for our sins, so that God now has the legal right to forgive our sins when we repent (1 John 1:7-9).
It is the shed blood of Jesus that cleanses us from all sins when we confess our sins to God from our heart.

1 JOHN 1:7-9
7 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from ALL sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will purify us from ALL unrighteousness.

D. Redemption from every curse of the Law through the blood of Jesus
When Christ died on the cross, He suffered for our sins by suffering for all the curses of the Law of God that came to us because of our sins.
Since Christ has suffered for our curses, every man and woman on this earth has been redeemed from the curses of the Law of God.

GALATIANS 3:13-14, NKJ
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’),
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.

No one on this earth needs to ever suffer again even for one more minute from the horrible curses of the Law.
All he has to do is to repent by confessing his sins to God.
It is that simple, because Christ has already paid the price.

The very moment a person repents, the curses of the Law over his life are broken and he is set free.
No matter how severe or bitter his bondage has been, the blood of Jesus is able to set him totally free.
And where there is no longer any sin or curse of the Law, the devil has no more legal right to kill, steal and destroy in his life any longer.
Hallelujah!!!

E. Instant restoration of every blessing of God’s kingdom through the blood of Jesus
When Christ died on the cross, through the shedding of His blood, He made a new agreement between God and man, called the New Covenant.
In this New Covenant, God promises to give to everyone who believes in Jesus as Saviour and Lord all the riches of His kingdom.

Jesus as the perfect man has fulfilled all the requirements of the Law of God to obtain the fullness of God’s blessings for Himself and for all men.
As He died on the cross, His blood was shed to bring forth the New Covenant between God and man, whereby through Him, all men can partake freely of God’s riches.

MATTHEW 26:27-28, NKJ
27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.
28 “For this is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

EPHESIANS
1:33 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Today, all the riches of God’s kingdom belong to every child of God, at no cost to us, totally free of charge.
They have come to us through the work of Jesus on the cross.
We cannot earn these riches by good works or human effort.
Christ has paid the price for these blessings with His blood.

Our Father God will therefore give to us whatever blessing we ask of Him in Jesus’ name since these blessings belong to us in Christ (John 16:23).
His blessings are released the very moment we ask (Mark 11:24).
However, our sins will stop God from releasing His blessings into our lives.
On the other hand, when we repent, every hindrance to the full and instant outpouring of God’s blessings into our lives is removed.
That is why repentance is the first key to obtaining the riches of the kingdom of God.

……………………………………………………………

TESTIMONY

Demonized Boy Of 17 Set Free

More than 5 years ago, my associate pastor and his wife went to a house to counsel a family as they were having family squabbles.
After hearing the Good News, the couple did not receive Christ, but their two boys did!
We baptized the children, age 16 and 15 years, and went to their house for house-cleansing of the boy’s room, with the parents’ permission.
We instructed the boys to get rid of all CD’s, VCDs and books involving demonic powers and witchcraft, and they did so at that time.

The two boys joined our Youth Fellowship for a season and later shifted to another church in Air Itam, as they lived far from our church.

About a year later, just after Sunday Morning Worship, the mother turned up with the 2 boys, with one of them screaming away in the back of the small Kancil and the younger brother keeping watch.
The older boy had been demonized for 2 weeks already and their church’s ministry of deliverance on him had not been successful.
I told them to come with their father to the evening service that we had in Balik Pulau, as I have learnt by now never to rush into any deliverance ministry without dealing with the root cause (the sin problem).

The parents turned up later with the two boys, and the father looked after the demonized son in a separate room while we worshipped.
After the service, I talked to both the parents, with the boy screaming away nearby on a couch, scratching away with his fingers, which were all darkened.
His parents said that he had wanted to jump from their 10th floor flat in Paya Terubong in his state of oppression.

I told the parents that the boy will not be set free until they renounced their idolatry and witchcraft and asked them if they were willing to do so. They said yes.
So I told them that we will go right away to their flat, a half-hour drive away.
The Youth Fellowship advisor also came along to help, together with the Youth Fellowship Leader, who prepared himself by confessing all his sins as we drove to the flat.

In the flat, I led the parents in a prayer of repentance concerning all forms of idolatry and witchcraft.
We then started going through the halls and the rooms and collected about 12 large rubbish bags of photographs, charms, plates, cups, books, CDs, etc., things that were all associated with idolatry and witchcraft.
By the time we finished collecting the items at about 11PM, the demonized boy was totally set free and smiling away, without any of us having to pray for him at all in the flat.

The parents turned to the Lord and were baptized the next day, as it was a public holiday.
Truly God is good.
The following Sunday, the mother testified in the church about the son's deliverance.
I also warned our church youths that if they did not heed my warnings and get demonized through watching Harry Potter movies and started to scream and yell, I will let them enjoy their screaming for a season before I will minister to them.

Hallelujah!!! Our God is a great God!!!

Lesson 2

DEAD WORKS AND THE CURSES OF THE LAW


A. Introduction: Why do we suffer when we sin?
Sin is “the breaking of the Laws of God.”
And the word of God declares that all sin leads to death.

Death comes into our lives when we sin because the word of God declares that our sins put us under the curses of the Law of God.
Such curses will automatically follow us and overtake us when we sin and do not repent.
(A curse is an event that brings disease, defeat, destruction, disasters and death to our spirit, soul and body and to all that we do and to all that we have).

The curses of the Law will follow us as long as we sin and do not repent, even though we may be unaware or ignorant of our sins.
Such curses give a legal right to the devil to enter into our lives to kill, steal and destroy us.
And the devil will not stop attacking us until we repent.

And neither will God stop the devil until we repent.
No amount of fasting and prayer will move God to set us free from our curses as long as we do not repent.
It is thus critical for every believer to know what the curses of the Law of God are and to seek God when he is suffering from such curses.
He needs to seek the Lord as to the sins in his own life that has brought curses upon himself, so that he may repent and be blessed instead.

B. Objectives of this lesson
The objectives of this lesson are as follows:

• To teach a believer what the curses of the Law of God are.
• To teach a believer the legal right of the devil to destroy us when we sin.
• To teach a believer the futility of prayer and fasting when we do not repent.

C. Dead works bring us under the curses of the Law of God
God has declared in His word that when we sin by disobeying God’s commands, we will produce dead works and come under the curses of the Law of God (Deuteronomy 28:15-22).
All dead works will bring us under the curses of the Law of God.
A curse is an event that brings disease, defeat, disaster, destruction and death to our spirit, soul and body and to all that we do and to all that we have.

A person, even a great prayer warrior, will come under the curses of the Law when he sins (Deuteronomy 28:15-68).
No one is exempted, no matter how great he may be in the kingdom of God today.
He will continue to suffer from the curses of the Law until he repents of his sins.
These curses will overtake everyone who breaks God’s laws, whether they willfully or ignorantly break God’s laws.
These curses of the Law of God are backed up by the word of God Himself and God’s word cannot be broken.

DEUTERONOMY 28:15-22
15 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all His commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16 You will be cursed in the city and in the country.
17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed,
18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
20 The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking Him.
21 The LORD will plague you with diseases until He has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess.
22 The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish.

The complete list of the curses of the Law in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 that comes upon God’s people when we sin includes the following:

• Curses everywhere we go.
• Curses on our food supply, where we will always not have enough.
• Curses on our body, resulting in infertility and barrenness.
• Curses upon our livestock.
• Curses of oppression, confusion, despair and madness in our mind.
• Curses on all the work of our hands, so that we always suffer failure.
• Curses of diseases of every kind, old and new.
• Curses of drought and famine.
• Curses of defeat at the hands of our enemies.
• Curses of fear of every kind.
• Curses of calamities and disasters which are never-ending.

D. Dead works opens a door for the devil to destroy us
When we sin and produce dead works, God will no longer protect us.
Instead, our sins will open a door for the devil to attack us in every area of our lives so as to destroy us.

The devil cannot be stopped by God as long as we have sin in our lives.
No amount of prayer can move God to stop the work of the devil in our lives as long as we do not repent of our sins.
The devil in fact has the legal right to destroy us because we have come under the curses of the Law of God when we sin and do not repent.
The devil knows the word of God better than any believer and he knows that he can legally attack us when we sin and do not repent.

EPHESIANS 4:26-27
26 In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
27 and do not give the devil a foothold.

1 JOHN 3:8
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning

E. Dead works stop God from hearing our prayers
Our God is a holy God.
He hates sin and does not tolerate sin in His presence.
When we sin and produce dead works and still do not repent, we have no access into His presence and God will not hear our prayers.
He will not deliver us from the curses of the Law and we will die from these curses unless we repent.

Prayers do not have to be long-winded, because God is not deaf.
Prayers do not have to involve large numbers of people or take long hours for them to be effective, because God is not powerless.
Prayer needs only be simple and be prayed in faith for God to answer, for God is waiting to answer the cries of His children speedily.
If an answer is not forthcoming from God when we pray according to His promises, it is because there is sin in our lives.
Our sinful works separate God from us and He will not answer our prayers until we truly repent from our heart (Psalm 66:18; Isaiah 59:1-2).

PSALM 66:18
If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

ISAIAH 59:1-2
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save nor His ear too dull to hear
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.

It is futile to worship and pray to God when we have sin in our lives.
As long as we live in sin, God will not hear us (Mark 11:25-26).
Jesus wants us to first repent of our sins and be reconciled with others before we worship or pray to God (Matthew 5:23-24).

It is also futile and useless to pray further for others when they suffer from curses of the law and God has not answered their prayers immediately.
What they need is to be taught to repent and to obey the commands of God. (This is the true definition of disciple-making, according to Matthew 28:19-20).

MARK 11:25-26 NKJ
25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.

MATTHEW 5:23
23 Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift.

Let us no longer live even one more day under the curses of the Law.
Let us allow the Holy Spirit to point out any sin in our lives so that we may quickly repent and live under an open heaven.

..................................................................................

TESTIMONY

Infant Healed Of Constant Crying

More than 5 years ago, a sister in the Lord I met through serving in the committee of a Christian mercy ministry contacted me for help concerning her grandson's problem.
The infant was only a few months old but had been crying non-stop for 2 weeks, and therefore had also not been sleeping at all, despite lots of medicine prescribed by doctors.

I met her at her home and told her that objects of idolatry and witchcraft will open a door for demons to oppress the household, as that was what I sensed concerning her grandson's case.
She then told me that she had stayed at her present home for more than 10 years, and the people in the house have been seeing shadows of people in their kitchen and passing by their rooms all these years.

I then checked through her rooms and kitchen and removed many photographs and many sets of porcelain plates and teapots and teacups with images of idolatry and witchcraft, her possessions since the day she was married many decades ago.

She repented of her sins done in ignorance and I prayed for the cleansing of the house by the blood of Jesus.
I also prayed for the infant to be set free and healed.
The sister later reported to me that her infant grandson was completely healed after the repentance and house-cleansing.

Hallelujah!!! All glory to God!!!

Lesson 1

REPENTANCE AND DEAD WORKS


A. Introduction: Why is repentance important?
Repentance is the first key to the riches of the kingdom of God.
Repentance is the first key to being a successful disciple of Jesus.
When there is no daily repentance, we will come under the curses of the Law of God and will live a life of failure and defeat in different areas of life.

When we repent daily, God hears and answers our prayers instantly.
When we repent daily, the power, the riches and the blessings of God’s kingdom will be poured out into our lives.
When we repent daily, we can walk in continuous victory over every problem we face in life.
When we repent daily, we will be blessed beyond all that we can ask or imagine so that we can be a witness and a blessing to others.
When we repent daily, we become true disciples of Jesus, fulfilling our destiny in Christ.

No believer can bypass the foundation of repentance from dead works in his daily life and expect to be a victorious disciple of Jesus.
A believer who builds his life in Christ without daily repentance is like a house built on sandy soil.
Such a life is unstable and will face calamities sooner or later.

The first teaching of our Lord Jesus when He started His earthly ministry was the command to repent (Matthew 4:17).
If Jesus has made repentance the first foundation to a disciple’s life in God’s kingdom, how can a believer be a true disciple of Jesus if he ignores repentance or teach others to do so?
Is such a believer greater than our Lord Jesus?

MATTHEW 4:17
17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

Likewise, in the book of Hebrews, Paul also confirmed that the first of the six basic doctrines of Christ for a new believer is ‘Repentance from dead works.’

HEBREWS 6:1-2, NKJ
1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith towards God,
2 And of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgement.

B. Objectives of this lesson
The objectives of this lesson are as follows:

• To teach a believer the meaning of dead works.
• To teach a believer the result of dead works.
• To teach a believer the meaning of repentance from dead works.

C. What are dead works?
“Dead works” are works which are sinful and lead to death in our spirit, soul and body.
Dead works include evil words and evil acts.
They arise from evil thoughts in our hearts.

Our old human nature, or our “flesh”, is born with sin and is not capable of doing anything good.
Because of sin in our nature, our works are all sinful works, which are dead works.
The following is a list of dead works that come from our flesh (or our old human nature).

GALATIANS 5:19-21, NKJ
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries and the like: of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

D. Dead works always result in death
All sin leads to dead works which ultimately lead to death.
Dead works bring death to our spirit, soul and body and to all that we do.
Thus dead works always result in disease, defeat, disaster, destruction and death in the lives of those doing the dead works.
These are the curses of the Law of God that we will suffer from when we produce dead works.

ROMANS 6:23
For the wages of sin is death.

JOHN 4:14
Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”

LUKE 13:3,5
[Jesus said]: “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

The Lord’s teaching is very clear.
If we do not repent of our sins and dead works, we will perish.
We will suffer from all sorts of destruction to our spirit, soul and body.
We will suffer from failure in all that we do.
We will also not inherit the kingdom of God and thereby lose our salvation (Galatians 5:21).

E. What is repentance from dead works?
"To repent” is to turn away from all evil and to do the will of God.
“To repent” is to confess our sins to God and to turn away from all sins.
“To repent from dead works” is to turn away from doing dead works and instead do the works that God has asked us to do.

The very moment we repent of our sins and dead works, God forgives us our sins and remembers them no more (1 John 1:7-9).
The very moment we repent of our sinful thoughts or sinful words or sinful acts, the curses of the Law of God over our lives are broken.

1 JOHN 1:7-9
7 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from ALL sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will purify us from ALL unrighteousness.

Also, God’s blessings are fully restored to us the very moment we repent.
God’s blessings, including His healing, His deliverance, His success, His wisdom, and His prosperity will come pouring into our lives the very moment we repent.

In the Parable Of The Prodigal Son, the father in the story (representing our Father God) restored back to the prodigal son all the inheritance that the son had lost in wild living as soon as the son repented (Luke 15:11-24).

LUKE 15:11-24 (The Parable Of The Lost Son)
Jesus continued: “There was a man with two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.”

From the above parable, we can learn the following:

• The younger son’s sin separated him from his father’s blessings.
• He remained in poverty and failure and in need as long as he did not repent.
• The son was forgiven of his great sin the very moment he repented.
• The blessings of the father were restored to the son the very moment he repented.
• There was a full restoration of every blessing that the son had lost when he repented.

Every disciple of Jesus must therefore learn to repent daily of all the sins that the Holy Spirit reminds us of, so that we can live under an open heaven everyday.
Only in this way will we be able to live a victorious Christian life and bring glory to God.

.........................................................

TESTIMONY

Pastor Healed Of Severe Pain In Big Toe

About 3 years ago, a pastor I know came down with severe pain in one of his big toes.
We had been praying together regularly whenever he was home from his itinerant ministry as a healing revivalist.
The doctor said it was gout and told him not to take excessive protein, which was hard for him as he loved nasi kandar.

He suffered for about three months until one day when the Holy Spirit pointed out to him the cause of his problem.
On that morning, during his quiet time, the Holy Spirit directed his attention to a pair of reflexology sandals that he had bought 3 months before that at a hypermarket.
Being a deliverance minister, he realized right away that these sandals had opened a door for the devil to put the sickness on him.

He repented by throwing out the sandals right away.
His pain disappeared immediately.
Later he testified in the church concerning this deliverance.

Hallelujah!!!

PAUSE ...................................................


Church Member Healed Of Severe Pain In One Leg

About a few months after the above testimony, a sister drove her husband (both new believers) to see me on a Monday morning, as her husband was unable to drive.
Her husband, an engineer, was suffering from severe pain in one of his legs, and both had not turned up during Sunday worship the day before.

They asked me, "Pastor, can you tell us what doors we have opened to the devil to attack one of us with this severe pain?"
I said, "You need to seek the Holy Spirit for yourself."

However, I testified to them concerning possible open doors and finally mentioned the testimony of the pastor above with the reflexology sandals.
They said they did not have any reflexology sandals at home, but mentioned that they had just been to the a park and had walked on the reflexology pathway there 2 days ago on the previous Saturday morning.
They then recalled and told me that the last time the husband suffered from such a severe leg pain was when they had walked on the same reflexology pathway one year previous to the present time, just before they became believers.

I told them to repent and they did so right away.
I then prayed healing over the husband.
By the next day, he was totally pain-free and testified of his miracle in church later.

Hallelujah!!! All glory to God!!!