The Blood Covenant #22: Good News to the Poor and the Blessing of Abraham

The blood covenant redeemed you from spiritual death, sickness and poverty, and it brought you into a kingdom where lack is no longer your portion. In this message, Dr. William P. Hohman shows that the very first thing Jesus announced in His public ministry was good news to the poor, and he explains why the blessing of Abraham comes to those who are willing to give God their best. This teaching continues from The Blood Covenant #21: Surrender, Abraham’s Test and the Blessing of Abraham.

Below you will find the full video, a structured summary of the sermon, the Scripture behind each point (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline, and practical steps you can take this week.

Sermon at a Glance

This message was posted on June 7, 2021, and was preached over a holiday weekend that Pastor Hohman links to Memorial Day. It runs about 76 minutes, includes a missions offering for a couple serving in Nicaragua, and closes with communion.

His burden is simple. If believers do not understand what God has done for them, they have nothing to put their faith in, and they go through things they never had to go through. Knowing the covenant is what gives confidence in hard times.

What the Blood Covenant Exchanges

Pastor Hohman begins with a recap. A covenant is like a marriage: everything that belongs to one now belongs to the other. Names are exchanged, authority is given, garments and assets are exchanged, and each party pledges all strength and power to guard the other. That, he says, is our relationship with God.

When Adam sinned, corruption entered the world and set up what he calls an earth curse system, one that will not improve until Christ returns. Yet believers now live in another kingdom while still on this earth. God does not send anyone to hell, he teaches; He runs alongside everyone on that road, calling them out. Jesus said you did not choose Him, He chose you (John 15:16), and our part is to say yes to His choosing.

From the first covenant with Adam through Noah, Abraham and Moses, the shedding of blood only covered sin. Jesus did not come to cover sin but to take it away. That is the redemptive power of this blood covenant: He has redeemed us from spiritual death, from sickness and disease, and from poverty. It is the Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom (Luke 12:32).

Reading Colossians 1:13–14, he notes that if you are redeemed from somewhere, you are redeemed to somewhere: from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love. And every kingdom has laws. Romans 8:2 says the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus makes us free from the law of sin and death. Grace does not mean there are no laws; it means a better law.

That is why he says, as he does in nearly every service, “you need the Holy Spirit more than you need breath.” The Spirit leads and guides us into all truth, shows us what is to come, and tells us what to do and what not to do.

Good News to the Poor

The sermon’s main text is Luke 4:16–21. In the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus opened the book of Isaiah and read, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.” Pastor Hohman points out that under the old order the anointing rested on an office in the temple. Jesus brought it into everyday life.

The gospel means good news, and he connects it to grace: the law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). Good news is God’s favor, kindness and ability directed toward people. And the very first audience Jesus named for that good news was the poor.

Pastor Hohman explains that the Greek word translated poor describes one crouching and begging publicly, someone who cannot hide or pretend, a pauper with nothing in this world. It is not only a spiritual meaning.

He also widens the definition. Any element of lack is poverty. Someone with no friends, alone with nobody to relate to, is impoverished in that area. That is why David could say in Psalm 23:1 that because the Lord is his shepherd, he shall not want. The Lord is Jehovah Jireh, the one who provides.

Jesus went on to proclaim healing for the brokenhearted, liberty to the captives, sight to the blind, freedom for the oppressed and the acceptable year of the Lord, the time when all that God desires for His people comes to pass. Then He said that the Scripture was fulfilled that day. What would be good news to the poor, Pastor Hohman asks? Your needs are met. It is not godly to live in lack.

Religious Deceptions About Poverty

Pastor Hohman traces the idea that poverty is holy back to two early movements. The Gnostics taught that Jesus never really came in the flesh, because God would never be tainted by a corrupt world. John wrote his first epistle to counter that, opening with what he had seen, heard and handled of the Word of life (1 John 1:1).

A second group withdrew into the desert so the world would not corrupt them, and their thinking entered the church through the monasteries, with vows of poverty and silence. He calls it a deception that helped no one. Jesus said that in this world you will have trouble, but to be of good cheer because He has overcome the world (John 16:33). Believers are in the world, not of it, as the light of the world and the salt of the earth. Though darkness covers the earth, His people are to arise and shine (Isaiah 60:1–2).

2 Corinthians 8:9 says Jesus became poor so that through His poverty we might become rich. Some read this as proof Jesus lived in want, but Pastor Hohman says He was poor only compared to heaven. He had someone who kept the money bag as they traveled, and His seamless garment was valuable enough that the soldiers cast lots for it.

He also points to the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30–35). The religious men passed by. The one who proved to be a neighbor was the one who had the means to pay for the wounded man’s care and promised to cover any extra cost. People who insist they should have nothing, he says, are not able to help anybody.

Prosperity Comes in Many Ways

There is a curse of poverty, but Galatians 3:13–14 says Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law so that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles and we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. The Spirit is how we see what God has prepared. Eye has not seen nor ear heard, but God reveals these things by His Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:9–12).

This matters for faith. Anything not of faith is sin, and a double-minded man receives nothing, so believers must be confident about what God has done. Even in the Old Testament, God’s thoughts toward His people were of peace, a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Deuteronomy 28 lists the blessings in verses 1–14 (Deuteronomy 28:1–14) and the curses from verse 15 on.

Just as poverty comes in many forms, so does prosperity. The table below gathers the examples he gives.

Genesis 24:40 says, “The LORD, before whom I walk, will send His angel with you and prosper your way.” The camp meeting story is his own: he and his family drove there in a truck with no gas and served all week. At the end, a woman from a prayer group found him and said the Lord had told them their money belonged to him.

He insists that financial wealth must come with knowledge. Without it you will squander whatever you have, however much you love God. A poverty mentality spends money because it has it; wisdom puts money to work.

Psalm 35:27 says, “Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” No parent wants their children poor and begging, and Romans 8:32 says that if God did not spare His own Son, He will also freely give us all things.

The Best Test and the Blessing of Abraham

In a covenant each party has a role, Pastor Hohman says. God has given us everything, and He also expects us to give. Abraham shows how. God promised him descendants like the stars, and twenty-five years later Isaac was born. Then God asked Abraham to offer Isaac.

On Mount Moriah, Abraham told his son that the Lord would provide Himself a sacrifice, and God stopped his hand. In Genesis 22:16–18 God swore by Himself that because Abraham had not withheld his only son, He would bless him, multiply his descendants and bless all nations through his seed. That, he says, is the blessing of Abraham you have been redeemed to receive.

He calls it “the best test.” God gave Abraham his heart’s desire and then asked whether Abraham still put Him first. He does the same with every believer. Proverbs 3:9–10 says, “Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.” New wine, he notes, always represents joy.

Lot is the contrast. Abraham let Lot choose the land first, confident God would bless him anywhere. Lot chose the valley by Sodom, sat in its gate as an elder, tolerated its corruption and lost his wife and much more. He lived for himself, and his heart was corrupted. Abraham gave his best and prospered where prosperity seemed impossible.

Isaac shows it again. In a famine, God told him not to go down to Egypt but to stay (Genesis 26:1–3). He sowed in that land and reaped a hundredfold in the same year, and he became very prosperous until the Philistines envied him (Genesis 26:12–14). God does not question whether to prosper you, he says; He asks whether you will give Him your best.

That is why the tithe matters: bring all the tithes into the storehouse (Malachi 3:10). He teaches that tithing came before the law, since Abraham tithed to Melchizedek, and that the tree in the garden was God’s portion. Job 36:11 promises that those who obey and serve Him will spend their days in prosperity, and Psalm 25:12–13 says God teaches the one who fears Him the way he should choose.

God gives seed to sow and bread to eat, and you never plant your bread. A farmer plants his best seed, not his worst. Pastor Hohman recalls preparing for a guest prophetess, Linda Sutter, and asking the Lord about the offering. The answer he heard was, “William, if you will give your best to everyone I send you, I will always send you my best.”

Ask, Receive and Build the Kingdom

In John 16:23–24 Jesus said that whatever we ask the Father in His name, He will give, so that our joy may be full. God is not nervous about what we will ask, because the desire of the righteous is only good (Proverbs 11:23). What he dislikes hearing is believers so worried about asking wrongly that they never ask in faith.

He illustrates this with his granddaughter, who had earned an MBA but spent about a year unable to find work in her field and was praying only for whatever God wanted. He told her God wants to give her what she wants, and to be a tither and a giver. Two days after they prayed, a company in Arizona, where she wanted to live, called her and offered far more than she had asked.

Our part is in Psalm 37:4–5: delight in the Lord, commit your way to Him, and trust Him. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). He is not giving wealth for extra cottages and cars, but so that the kingdom can be built and souls saved.

2 Corinthians 9:10–11 says God supplies seed to the sower. Our goodness is spiritual seed. Proverbs 10:22 adds: “The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.”

He credits giving for the reach of the church’s ministry: churches, schools, clinics and radio and television work in 37 nations from a small congregation. Give, and it will be given to you, good measure, pressed down and running over (Luke 6:38). He reports that Uganda’s economy grew after this teaching was preached there, because God’s Word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11).

Living the Blood Covenant This Week

The message ends with communion from 1 Corinthians 11:23–26, the cup of the new covenant in His blood. Pastor Hohman urges the church to remember Jesus, not their problems, and he quotes Psalm 119:68: the Lord is good and does good. Here are the steps drawn from this blood covenant message:

• Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal your covenant. Pray that He opens your eyes to what God has already provided, so your faith has something solid to stand on.
• Reject the idea that lack is holy. Read Luke 4:18 again and receive the good news to the poor as God’s will for every area of need.
• Give God your best first. Honor Him with the firstfruits of your increase and bring the tithe to your local church.
• Grow in knowledge of money. Put what you have to work instead of spending it because you have it.
• Ask boldly and specifically. Stop praying vague prayers out of fear of asking wrongly; delight in the Lord and ask Him for the desires of your heart.
• Ask what your part is. He closes by having the church pray, “Holy Spirit, show me what’s my part” in building the kingdom and seeing souls saved.

Timestamped Outline

• 0:00 Opening prayer for revelation of the covenant
• 0:58 Covenant as a marriage-like exchange
• 3:10 Redeemed from death, sickness and poverty
• 5:23 Jesus took sin away, not just covered it
• 6:27 You need the Holy Spirit; Colossians 1:13–14
• 8:36 Every kingdom has laws: Romans 8:2
• 9:31 Jesus’ first message: Luke 4:16–21
• 11:39 What the word poor means
• 12:56 Any lack is poverty; Psalm 23
• 14:03 The Gnostics and 1 John
• 15:17 Monasteries and poverty vows
• 18:34 2 Corinthians 8:9 and Jesus’ treasurer
• 19:52 The Good Samaritan
• 20:51 Redeemed from the curse: Galatians 3
• 23:53 Deuteronomy 28 and many forms of prosperity
• 26:17 Favor and the camp meeting gift
• 27:15 Wealth with knowledge
• 29:29 Psalm 35:27 and Romans 8:32
• 34:48 Abraham offers Isaac: Genesis 22
• 36:53 Honor the Lord with your firstfruits
• 41:08 Isaac sows in famine: Genesis 26
• 47:49 “Give your best to everyone I send you”
• 48:43 Whatever you ask: John 16:23–24
• 1:07:54 Communion and the blood covenant

Blood Covenant Series

This message is part of a long teaching series at NTC Ministries. Start from the beginning or continue where this one leaves off:

• First message: The Blood Covenant
• Previous: The Blood Covenant #21: Surrender, Abraham’s Test and the Blessing of Abraham
• You are here: The Blood Covenant #22: Good News to the Poor and the Blessing of Abraham
• Next: The Blood Covenant #23: The Redeemer Who Teaches You to Profit — Only Our Best Will Do

Frequently Asked Questions

Does God care about money more than the heart?

No. Pastor Hohman says God is not concerned about giving you wealth at all; He is concerned about whether you will give Him your best. Corruption does not come from money or gold, which pave the streets of heaven, but from holding onto what God gives for yourself. Lot shows the danger of living for yourself, while Abraham shows the blessing that follows putting God first.

Does God ask believers to give everything away?

He may, Pastor Hohman says. He shares that he and his wife Pam gave away everything they owned twice, and that God was preparing them for something special. Normally, though, God gives seed to sow and bread to eat. You do not plant your bread. God will show you what the seed is, and He always asks for the best rather than the leftovers.

Does money make a person happy?

Pastor Hohman answers that money does not make you happy, but neither does poverty, which he says will make you more sorrowful than money. The difference is the blessing of the Lord, which makes rich and adds no sorrow. When you give God your best first, joy comes with what He gives back, and you are able to help family, church, missions and whoever comes your way.

Scripture References

All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:

• Luke 4:16–21 — anointed to preach the gospel to the poor
• Colossians 1:13–14 — delivered from darkness, redeemed through His blood
• Galatians 3:13–14 — redeemed from the curse, the blessing of Abraham
• 2 Corinthians 8:9 — He became poor that we might become rich
• Genesis 22:16–18 — God swears to bless Abraham
• Genesis 26:12–14 — Isaac reaps a hundredfold in famine
• Proverbs 3:9–10 — honor the Lord with your firstfruits
• Psalm 35:27 — pleasure in the prosperity of His servant
• John 16:23–24 — ask, that your joy may be full
• Proverbs 10:22 — the blessing of the Lord makes rich

How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.

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