With Christ, we don't have to do "trade by barter" with the Lord our God to enjoy His blessings and victory.

Believers, check out the way of our Saviour Jesus Christ with all who came to Him for healing and deliverance throughout the gospels. He never asked anyone to go and fast, sow seed or do restitution before He freely gave them His salvation. He never asked any of the beneficiaries of His grace (undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour!) whether they were paying tithe as the law demanded or whether they had an unsettled quarrel with their spouse before He saved them. 

He never asked anyone which sin they had committed before saving them. He never told anyone to go and bring seed or do anything before He freely healed and saved them. Even the woman that was caught in adultery whom the law-toting Pharisees were eager to stone to death received Christ's gift of no condemnation plus a "no questions asked" salvation from the death that she 100% deserved according to the Law. All who were in need came to Him without their baggage of laws kept and works done. All came to Him for salvation as they were- with their baggage of sins and imperfections. And He healed/saved/delivered them all, all without terms and conditions. This is Grace- undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour.

Believer, we are not under Law but under Grace. Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11 says of Him:

"God’s marvelous grace has manifested in person, bringing salvation for everyone."

Verse 14 of the same Titus 2 says: 

"He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

You see, even those sins that you are struggling to give up and the good works that you are lacking in which "pastor" said is "blocking" your blessing, Christ came to save you from them all and make you eager to do good deeds. Christ does the transformation. No "arm of flesh" aka human effort is involved. 

He said to His disciples in Matthew 10:8- "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give." 

He never asked for tithe records and sin catalogue before freely giving and the apostles followed His example.

Jesus Christ (Grace-personified) is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8.) But somehow, people who profess to represent our Lord Jesus Christ in many places of worship today are boldly asking believers and even non-believers who are looking for salvation to go and bring tithe records and to first go and fast, sow seed and do all sorts before they can receive from Him. Believer, this "trade by barter" arrangement is not of Christ. Consider Romans 8:32- 

"He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"

In Christ, our heavenly Father gives us ALL things FREELY and not because of our puny fasts, attempts to obey the law, vows, and other human effort (arm of flesh)-driven works. But many churchgoers are not freely receiving because many do not believe that God gives us all things freely with Christ. 

The Law of Moses demands that you first be a particular way (perfectly sinless and deserving of God's mercy) by your own human striving at obedience before God can bless you. See this in God's word in Deutoronomy 28-

1 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:

3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country."

Thought to point out that verse 3 above is very important for anyone looking to relocate- whether because your pastor has said that your office or house is haunted or because you are seeking a better life in another State or country. The blessing is on the person, not the location. It is like a permanent perfume that follows the carrier everywhere. Whether you are living in Zamfara or Canada, God's goodness and mercy will hunt you down if the blessing is upon you. 

How to get the blessings is the issue. 

The blessings in Deuteronomy 28 go on until verse 14. But there is a CONDITION -  those who are trying to get right with God by their human effort at obedience (such are under Law) in order to get His blessings have to keep ALL of the Law. That "ALL" is God's word and it is not there by mistake. If you expect God to bless you because of your own human effort at obedience or the various fasts and good works that antichrist pastors deceptively make the flock depend on in order to get God to bless, you have to obey every single Law. James 2:10 buttresses this point:

"For whosoever shall keep the whole Law yet stumble at one point, he is guilty of all."

The blessing will only come if "you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully ALL His commandments." Not just some of God's blessings. His word says "ALL these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:"

But nobody can keep all of His commandments. Romans 3 tells us "All have sinned" and that "There is none righteous, no, not one." Of ourselves, all of us are on the wrong side of the Law and can never be right with God by our puny efforts at doing what the Law commands-

"For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the Law commands. The Law simply shows us how sinful we are." Romans 3:20.

In the same Deuteronomy 28 we see what happens to those who cannot "diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments" aka all of mankind -

15“But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

16 “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country."

Again, for those who wish to relocate, changing houses or locations cannot remove the curse of the Law from those who are under it. The curses in Deuteronomy 28 go on until the end of this chapter. 

Just as ALL of the blessings shall come upon and overtake those who obey ALL of God's commandments, ALL of the curses will come upon and overtake everyone who does not keep ALL of God's Law. ALL - that's all of mankind by default! We were all doomed to face the curse.

Even the Pharisees and teachers of religious law who knew the Law back to back failed at obeying God. They did not qualify for the blessings of God despite their law-keeping and many, many works. Yet many churchgoers who do not even know most of the over 600 Jewish laws think they can get the some of the blessing by doing that horrid "trade by barter" arrangement with God! 

Paying tithe or keeping the law in order to be godly (be like God) or in order to get God's blessing is being under Law. Anyone who is doing anything at all by his own human effort (arm of flesh) in order to be godly (be like God, just as Eve did) or get God to bless is under Law. He has to keep the ENTIRE Law in order for that tithe and washing church toilet to matter. But there is nobody without sin. Not one.

No matter our effort, all of us were doomed to face the curse and pay the wages of sin - "For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the Law commands. The Law simply shows us how sinful we are." Romans 3:20.

Believer, God saw how hopeless our case was, something that many churchgoers who think their fasts, tithes and puny efforts at obeying the Law to get God to bless are yet to see. Because He loved us so, He sent His own Son Jesus Christ to redeem us from the curse of the Law that was our lot and to pay the wages of sin that His Law demanded of us: Death. In God's sight, everyone who believes in Jesus is 100% righteous, not because we kept the Law or did anything to deserve it but through the blood of Jesus- see Romans 5:9-

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

Christ bore our curse and died the death that God's Law demanded of us. In God's reckoning, all who receive His abundance of Grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ have fulfilled the demand of the Law as it is written in Deuteronomy 28:1-

1 “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God:

3 “Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country."

As believers in Christ, having the Lord as our Righteousness and our Strength, we are entitled to ALL of the blessings of God and are COMPLETELY free from every curse therein; all of this SOLELY through the finished work of Christ for our salvation from the law of sin and death. 

Yet this "trade by barter" arrangement that hinges our ability to enjoy God's freely-given blessings in Christ is very popular in our local churches. It is not uncommon to hear "pastor" deceiving the flock into thinking that all will be well with them if they can pay tithe and do their best to keep the Ten Commandments/live a godly life. Beloved of God, your best can never be enough. These are just a few of the over 600 laws that those who are trying to get the blessing through their own human effort at obedience (law-keeping) must keep in order to be blessed and escape the curse. James 2:10 says:

"For whosoever shall keep the whole Law yet stumble at one point, he is guilty of all."

Only sin and death await those who depend on their human effort at obedience (law-keeping) and their own fleshly works to get God's blessings. Believer, by Grace, let's not be misled into going back under slavery to the Law in order to get God to bless. Christ has set us free indeed. God's word counsels us in Galatians 5:1-

"So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law."

Only the blood of Jesus through whom we have God's gift of everlasting righteousness to us in Christ will suffice for God the righteous as payment for our redemption from the curse of the law. Anyone who has this gift is blessed. Proverbs 10:6 says:

" Blessings are on the head of the righteous, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked."

The "righteous" here is not the one who can keep the Law in order to be righteous. He is ths one who is made righteous by Christ's obedience.

There is no blessing under Law which is essentially that "trade by barter" arrangement aka dependence on human effort at obedience that makes one able to boast about how "I sowed my car and God gave me a jet." There is only the curse because the Law condemns the best of us. 

But Grace, He saves the worst of us, even salvation from sin and death. In Him, God our Father gives us all things FREELY. Why don't you cast all your care on Him today, even the care of those sins and addictions that you struggle with? He will save you from them all and cause you to live right.

When your believing is right, right living will follow.