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Conditionals from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

Today I want to talk about conditionals in the word of God, blessings, promises, even curses that are triggered by a certain action. It is something that we should always be aware of. God’s laws work much like gravity: you drop a cup and it always falls towards the Earth. Many of God’s promises work like this, an action followed by a reaction.

I have accidentally set some off in my own life and then discovered later that it was written in scripture thousands of years ago. A simple example to begin with is Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” At times I have thoroughly delighted in spending time with the Lord and soaking in His presence with worship music and prayer, and soon the desires of my heart began being fulfilled. Things that I would not even have prayed about began to happen.

I do a good bit of computer programming here and Psalm 37:4 interpreted for me would look something like this:

if (Dion = 'Delights in the Lord') then {

    Give him the desires of his heart;

} else {

    Do nothing and return;

}

When you examine this scripture, who will be given the desires of their heart? Those who delight in the Lord. Scripture is full of conditionals like this.

Salvation: John 3:16 is possibly the most quoted verse in the Bible, and when you read it carefully, it has a conditional. John 3:16 NASB: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

There are so many promises like this and we can use them in our lives. It is not a mysterious recipe. Many times God has given us very detailed instructions and it is simply our obedience that unlocks the blessing. He takes care of the math.

Consider the promise of the Holy Spirit in John 7:37:

The Holy Spirit: (John 7:37–39 NASB)  Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ ” But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Who does Jesus promise the Holy Spirit to? Those who are thirsty. The promise of the Holy Spirit is not given to pastors, priests,  or any man, woman, or child unless they are thirsty. It is for those who are thirsty for more of God. That is the requirement.

Intimacy with God: Think of (Jeremiah 29:13 NKJV)  “you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Who will find the Lord? Those who search for Him with all their heart. It does not matter if you are rich or poor, famous or homeless. The blessing is rewarded when the condition is met.

Here is a scary one: (Matthew 6:14–15 NASB)  “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” We can actually block our own forgiveness when we refuse to forgive others. Who gets forgiven? Those who forgive others.

Finances: Malachi 3:8 is an interesting one that comes with blessings and curses: (Malachi 3:8–11 NASB)  “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. “Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the LORD of hosts.

If someone tithes, then the Lord promises to:

* Open the windows of heaven for them

* Pour them out a blessing until it overflows

* Rebuke the devourer from their income

If they do not, then:

* Their finances are cursed

* The devourer is allowed to destroy their income

Oh, would God really do that to me? Yep. He is not a respecter of persons, you can be the president or a penniless widow, but no one is exempt. No one was to come to the house of the Lord empty-handed (Exodus 34:20). God wants to use us to bless others, and then He will multiply it and cause others to bless us. It is circular. That is the way the kingdom of God works.

You can never out give God because He will take what you give to others, multiply it and give it back to you (Luke 6:38). But you will have to learn to trust Him to take care of you. Until then, giving will always be a struggle. Your mind will tell you to hoard, Jesus will tell you to give.

Wisdom: If we need wisdom on something we can ask God and He promises to give it to us. It may come in a different way than we expect, so keep your mind open. (James 1:5 NASB)  “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

These are just a few of over a thousand conditional blessings in scripture. When you are reading your Bible, I encourage you to look out for others. Figure out what is the blessing, and what is the requirement? Leave your own finds in the comment section.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help me understand Your word and to be balanced in my life. Lead me to the right scriptures, help me make the right decisions, and open the right doors for me. Come and be a part of my life today, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen.