Golden Ministries Newsletter

Greetings in the matchless name of our Lord Jesus Christ. As I prepare for this upcoming trip the Lord has called me to a lengthy fast and to spend more time in prayer and worship. I know this will be a very strategic trip. I need your prayers both in preparing and while I am gone. I need to know exactly how the Lord wants me to order things.

I am planning on going to India and the Philippines mid-March but I believe the Lord wants me to also spend some time in Madras (Southern India where the Tsunami hit) and in Hong Kong. Please pray as the trip is planned that it will be exactly as the Lord wishes and that He will make everything concerning this trip clear. There are a few others who are considering coming with me on part of the trip. Please pray the Lord will order it as He will and only He really can.

Tax Note

I would like to sincerely thank you for believing in what the Lord is doing in and through this ministry in the world enough to invest your giving and connect with me through your prayers. It is a great strength to me and I want to be very diligent to be faithful to that trust and pray for you as well.

Salt and Communion

As we established in the last newsletter concerning salt there was salt in the Showbread, which is a type of the communion bread, which also has salt. When we partake of salt together we are sealing an eternal covenant with each other. But as in all covenants there is a serious consequence when that covenant is broken.

In Genesis 15:9 God told Abram prepare certain animals. He was to cut them in two pieces and wait. The Lord, Himself came down in a blazing fire and passed between those pieces of animal to seal a covenant in a manner that Abram understood because of the day he lived in. Passing between those pieces meant I am sealing a covenant with you through this shed blood. If you break this covenant may you become like one of these animals that has been cut in two. Then the custom was for everyone involved to cook and eat the animals used in the ceremony, which also sealed the covenant in shared, salt.

The Lord Himself passed between those pieces to state this eternal covenant with Abram. This covenant was handed down to us as stated previously through the Blood of Jesus, Galatians 3:14. That is so wonderful that thousands of years after Abraham graduated to heaven we can still partake of his covenant blessings through Jesus Christ. But there are still consequences to the broken covenant.

NKJ Leviticus 26:15-16 and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

Making a Covenant of Salt is a serious thing but breaking one is deadly. When we partake of the bread of communion, the salt is in the bread. Who are we taking covenant with? Just like Abram we are making covenant with the Lord. Which is not something to be taken lightly. How serious can it be? Let’s see.

NKJ 1 Corinthians 11:23-30 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.

Let’s look a few things concerning these verses. First of all the Lord was creating a New Covenant. It was both a Covenant of Blood (the Blood of Jesus Christ) and a Covenant of Salt, which is a covenant of God shown by the salt in the bread. Every time you partake of Holy Communion you are restating that covenant. You are partaking of the covenant elements with the Lord. He states if you partake in an unworthy manner you will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. That’s intense. What is an unworthy manner?

He states that if they would just examine themselves they wouldn’t have to be concerned. The cup would be a blessing and not bring the curse of judgment. What is this judgment? He tells us what it is. For this reason (partaking of communion in an unworthy manner) many are weak and sick among you and many sleep (which means they die). Paul often refers to dying as sleep because our soul never dies. It either goes to heaven or hell but it never ceases to exist.

Wait a minute you mean to tell me many in the body of Christ are sick and some may even be dead because they partook of communion without repenting? YES! Sister Gwen has had some personal experiences concerning this that she relates in her book “Redeeming the Land.” Breaking covenant is serious. Taking a holy covenant lightly is serious. But we have the Blood of Jesus; we don’t live under the curse.

Yes it is true the Blood of Jesus cancels the curse, so why aren’t you using it? If I have a tick crawling on my arm I can easily remove it. I am well able. I won’t let it bite me and perhaps make me sick with the diseases they carry. But if I look at it and do nothing it will bite me. We have the Blood of Jesus so we don’t have to live under the curse but often we do. The remedy to partaking of communion unworthily, is to Repent of your Sins and ask the Lord to Forgive you and wash your sins away in His Blood before partaking. BUT PEOPLE DON’T UNDERSTAND SO THE DON’T DO IT. Yes it’s there for us and it’s easy if we are sincere but we must APPLY it, otherwise we are just allowing the curse to eat us up.

Let’s look at another Bible example of this. A King was going to have a wedding. The original people invited were not willing to come so the King invited all the people His servants could bring in from the highways and byways.

NKJ Matthew 22:11-14 "But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless.

This man was coming into the King’s house to eat the Wedding Meal with the King at the King’s invitation. Wow! That is so wonderful. But he took it too lightly and it cost him his life. He did not prepare. Notice the King is angry because the man doesn’t have on a Wedding Garment. In those days when someone rich like a King had a wedding they provided washing pots for cleansing and all of the wedding garments. He provided a wedding garment for this man but the man didn’t put it on. That is a direct insult and the King took it that way. The King then had the man thrown out of the light into outer darkness (sickness, trouble and death) where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Many are called but few are chosen or are willing to walk in the holy covenant and keep their covenant position respectfully.

The Lord provides the washing by His own Blood. We are to repent of our sins (take the old dirty garments off); wash in the Blood of Jesus and put on the Righteousness of Christ that He has provided for us anytime we intend to enter into His presence but especially when we are going to partake of Him in holy covenant. If we do not use what He died to provide for us it is a personal insult to the Lord. When we do that He has us removed from His presence where the light is and then as we stand in the darkness, there unprotected we are open to the attack of anything that passes by. If you have done this because you didn’t realize it, now is the time to realize it and repent. Don’t just let the curse linger. Remove it forever.

Let’s take this one step further. If I take communion in a church then I am taking communion with the Lord and with that church. I am taking communion with everyone present during that service. I am partaking of salt with them when I eat the communion bread. That means I must take care to keep that covenant by protecting them, and helping them whenever it is in my power to do so, by having a bond of love and friendship. Remember covenant is a relationship bond in commitment. If I talk bad about them, gossip, harbor offense, hold unforgiveness, etc. I have broken covenant by harming someone I shared salt with ‘from the Body and Blood of Christ’ and that brings the curse; not only that they are part of the Lord’s own ‘body’ and when I hurt them I hurt Him. He takes that personally and it brings a curse on me. NKJ Matthew 25:40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'

Bringing a curse is something He doesn’t want to do. He died to prevent and remove the curse. But just like there are rules of gravity (just drop a hammer and see) there are basic legalities of the Kingdom we need to understand. It is usually cause and effect. It’s time for us to understand the legalities of the Kingdom and work with them just like we work with gravity and basic laws around us. This is no more legalism than gravity. It is simply reality.

Restoring Covenant & Healing

For example: Sometimes when I go to pray for a person’s healing the Holy Spirit stops me. He may say something like they need to repent before you can pray for them or they have unforgiveness. So what does that have to do with healing? A lot really. I have prayed for a person with cancer. Wonderful people have prayed for that person but no healing. It is very discouraging. Why doesn’t this work like it is supposed to? Because you are operating illegally.

Let’s say the Lord reveals that it is there because of unforgiveness. Wow, that must be something hard for them to forgive. The Lord will work just as big a miracle to enable them to forgive completely as healing the cancer. First you must let them know what the Lord says. They can’t be healed until they forgive. Then pray with them and help them with the same Holy Ghost power you would use for healing. Once they have sincerely forgiven, pray for their healing. Then the healing comes easily. Why? It’s because you removed its legal right to be there. Then when the cancer is removed you pray for restoration of what was damaged and the person is whole. We have access to great faith and power from the Lord but we must also use wisdom.

If I go and demand that you leave your home, you’re going to want to see some legal papers, something that overrides your legal right to be there. If I have nothing to show you, then you will not leave but may attack me for trespassing on your ‘legal’ territory. When you remove the legal right the rest is much easier.

We need to know the legal scriptures when the enemy threatens us and be able to show him that we know our legal rights. Often he pushes to see if you do and if you are willing to stand in your authority, if not he is ready to attack. We need to listen to the Lord our Commanding Offices for marching orders. Often when the enemy is intense these marching orders are my legal right to protection. The Lord told me to… if like showing a legal pass that gives me right of way unharmed.

As you can see there is a lot to share concerning the Covenant of Salt. I have more to share but that will have to wait for the next newsletter. As I close this newsletter I want to add some reference information that may be of interest to some of you.

References:

Dakes Annotated Reference Bible states in his comments: “Salt was permitted because being the opposite of leaven it was an emblem of purity, permanence, and preservation of life. Salt was also used when sealing the covenant, implying that it was to be binding and permanent. Hence it is called the salt of the covenant (Num 18:19; II Chr 13:5). The custom still remains in force among Arabs who make vows and covenants with a piece of bread sprinkled with salt, signifying peace and friendship between the parties of the covenant.”

Salt – a covenant made with Israel concerning the sacrifices they were to offer forever. In Palestine and surrounding countries salt was used in making covenants; and if a person ate food with salt in it, together, they became friends though they may have been enemies before. The Arab _expression is, “There is salt between us,” or “he has eaten of my salt,” which means partaking of the hospitality which cements friendship. Covenants were generally confirmed at sacrificial meals and was salt was always present. The covenant of salt pictures the everlasting friendship between God and His people.

Fausset’s Bible Dictionary says Salt… A necessary accompaniment of the various altar offerings, bloody and unbloody (Lev. 2:13, "the salt of the covenant of thy God"; Ezek. 43:24; Mark 9:49,50). It signifies the imperishableness of Jehovah's love for His people; as an antiseptic salt implies durability, fidelity, purity. The opposite of leaven, the symbol of corruption. Covenants were cemented by feasts and hospitality, …which were seasoned, as all foods, with salt. Hence, "a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord" is an indissoluble covenant (Num. 18:19; 2 Chr. 13:5; Ezra 4:14, margin). An Arab who just before would have robbed and murdered you, once you taste his salt, would die to save you; "faithless to salt" is the Persian term for a traitor… Salt as expressing purity was the outward sign Elisha used in healing the waters (2 Kings 2:20,21). The Israelites used to rub infants with salt to make the skin dense and firm, and for purification and dedication of them to God (Ezek. 16:4).

Fausset explains the Covenant of Salt like this: Covenant Hebrew b¦riyt, Greek diatheekee. From baarah "to divide" or" cut in two" a victim (Gesenius), between the parts of which the covenanting parties passed (Gen. 15:9, etc.; Jer. 34:18,19). Probably the covenanting parties eating together (which barah sometimes means) of the feast after the sacrifice entered into the idea; compare Gen. 31:46,47, Jacob and Laban.

"A COVENANT OF SALT," taken in connection with the eastern phrase for friendship, "to eat salt together," confirms this view. Salt, the antidote to corruption, was used in every sacrifice, to denote purity and perpetuity (Lev. 2:13; Mark 9:49). So a perpetual covenant or appointment (Num. 18:19; 2 Chr. 13:5).

The ISBE Bible Dictionary states Covenant of Salt <solt> (Heb: berith melach; Grk: halas, classical Greek Grk: hals): As salt was regarded as a necessary ingredient of the daily food, and so of all sacrifices offered to Yahweh (Lev 2:13), it became an easy step to the very close connection between salt and covenant-making. When men ate together they became friends. Compare the Arabic _expression, "There is salt between us"; "He has eaten of my salt," which means partaking of hospitality which cemented friendship; compare "eat the salt of the palace" (Ezr 4:14). Covenants were generally confirmed by sacrificial meals and salt was always present. Since, too, salt is a preservative, it would easily become symbolic of an enduring covenant. So offerings to Yahweh were to be by a statute forever, "a covenant of salt for ever before Yahweh" (Nu 18:19). David received his kingdom forever from Yahweh by a "covenant of salt" (2 Ch 13:5). In the light of these conceptions the remark of our Lord becomes the more significant: "Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace one with another" (Mk 9:50).

So necessary was it that they dignified it by making it a requisite part of sacrifices (Lev 2:13; Ezr 6:9; 7:22; Ezek 43:24; Mk 9:49). In Nu 18:19; 2 Ch 13:5, a "covenant of salt" is mentioned. This custom of pledging friendship or confirming a compact by eating food containing salt is still retained among Arabic-speaking people. The Arabic word for "salt" and for a "compact" or "treaty" is the same. Doughty in his travels in Arabia appealed more than once to the superstitious belief of the Arabs in the "salt covenant," to save his life. Once an Arab has received in his tent even his worst enemy and has eaten salt (food) with him, he is bound to protect his guest as long as he remains.

Salt was used not only as a food, but as an antiseptic in medicine. Newborn babes were bathed and salted (Ezek 16:4), a custom still prevailing. The Arabs of the desert consider it so necessary, that in the absence of salt they bath their infants in camels' urine. Elisha is said to have healed the waters of Jericho by casting a cruse of salt into the spring (2 Ki 2:20 f). Abimelech sowed the ruins of Shechem with salt to prevent a new city from arising in its place (Jdg 9:45). Lot's wife turned to a pillar of salt (Gen 19:26).

Easton’s Bible Dictionary states - Salt, used to season food, Job 6:6 and mixed with the fodder of cattle Isa 30:24 "clean;" in marg. of R.V. means "salted"). All meat-offerings were seasoned with salt Le 2:13. To eat salt with one is to partake of his hospitality, to derive subsistence from him; and hence he who did so was bound to look after his host's interests Ezr 4:14 "We have maintenance from the king's palace;" A.V. marg., "We are salted with the salt of the palace;" R.V., "We eat the salt of the palace"). A "covenant of salt" Nu 18:19 2Ch 13:5 was a covenant of perpetual obligation. New-born children were rubbed with salt Eze 16:4 Disciples are likened unto salt, with reference to its cleansing and preserving uses Mt 5:13.

There are many more references but I think this is enough without over burdening you with reference material. I pray that this series is helpful and that you will feel comfortable asking any questions or making any comments.

Upcoming Trip

Tax Note

Salt and Communion

Restoring Covenant & Healing

References: