Pastor Mike Signorelli brings bold, Bible-based teaching to help believers walk faithfully in today’s often compromised world
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| Mike Signorelli - The Theology of Curses | April 1, 2026
- - this path is already
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- - narrow and we will forge forward, making no excuse
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- For why we can live uncompromised in this generation.
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- - lock in, give me a hundred people who will walk
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- That narrow road
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- And say, i may have some things in my family,
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- But i'm where it runs out.
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- - i'm standing right now in capernaum, here in israel.
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- And what happened in this place forces us
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- To confront something
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- That most christians are avoiding right now.
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- It's actually the theology of curses,
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- Because jesus, think about this, the embodiment of grace,
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- Mercy, and truth literally stood in this city
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- And pronounced one of the most severe judgments,
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- And the entire gospels, not on pagans,
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- Not on idol worshipers,
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- But on a city that actually knew him.
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- So think about what i'm saying, okay?
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- Now, here in capernaum, it it, i, i can't help
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- But to acknowledge this, this heaviness,
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- Because capernaum was not just a stop on
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- Jesus' ministry tour.
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- Matthew chapter four, verse 13 says, leaving nazareth,
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- He went and lived in capernaum by the sea.
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- This, this was his home base.
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- I mean, from right here, i mean, as a matter of fact,
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- Over my shoulder, demons were cast out publicly.
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- The sick were healed openly.
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- The synagogue heard teaching with authority,
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- Not just theory.
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- I mean, that's the synagogue right there.
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- The city had maximum exposure to the son of god, which means
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- What happens next is not emotional.
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- It's judicial. it's governmental.
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- That's what i want you to understand.
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- We're gonna go a little bit deeper right now.
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- So in matthew chapter 11, verse 23, jesus says,
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- And you capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven?
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- You'll be brought down to hades.
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- This is not metaphoric like metaphorical language in
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- Jewish theology.
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- This is covenant lawsuit language.
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- Jesus is not throwing insults.
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- He's acting as a prophet and a judge.
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- He's invoking the same framework found in deuteronomy
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- Chapter 28, blessings for obedience
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- And curses for refusal after revelation.
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- Oh, so now you're probably asking the
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- Question, what, what is a curse?
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- Actually, well, let, let me clarify something, okay?
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- A biblical curse. it's not magic, it's not superstition.
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- It's not emotional anger.
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- A curse is the removal of divine covering
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- After persistent, willful resistance to the truth.
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- And in other words, god does not actively destroy.
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- He actually steps back and removes his covering.
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- Romans chapter ones calls this god gave them over.
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- Curses are not god attacking you.
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- They are god honoring your refusal
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- And removing his covering.
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- Capernaum didn't lack information. they lacked repentance.
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- Okay? this is what you need to understand.
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- They saw some of the most dramatic miracles and deliverances
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- And had jesus right here.
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- But he says something even more staggering.
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- If the mighty works done in you had been done in sodom,
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- It would've remained until this day.
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- That means judgment is proportional to revelation.
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- Sodom sinned in ignorance.
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- Capernaum sinned in proximity of the savior.
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- And in covenant theology, proximity raises accountability.
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- I mean, the closer you are to the light,
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- The more dangerous resistance becomes.
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- I mean, i mean, think about it like that.
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- And, and this is jesus christ himself. okay?
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- So this is new testament.
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- Behind me are the ruins of the synagogue
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- Where jesus likely taught,
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- And it would've been the, the lower level
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- Of the architecture,
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- But underneath this limestone structure in,
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- In the foundation from his day, he would've talked.
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- And this means that these stones heard his voice.
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- The city didn't reject him violently.
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- They simply normalized him and became familiar.
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- And normalization is one
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- Of the most lethal spiritual states you can find yourself
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- In, because the lack of honor, it, it,
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- It literally is dangerous as you're interacting with god.
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- Capernaum teaches us something
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- That's pretty terrifying if you ask me.
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- I mean, you can host the presence of god
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- And still resist the purposes of god and not repent.
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- You can experience miracles without submission
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- And without transformation.
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- That's crazy. judgment doesn't always come from
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- Outright rebellion.
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- Sometimes it actually comes from delay to repent,
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- Delayed repentance, delayed obedience, delayed surrender.
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- Okay? and that's what happened here.
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- And jesus himself curses capernaum.
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- Jesus didn't curse ignorance.
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- He confronted familiarity without response.
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- Capernaum wasn't destroyed
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- Because, you know, well, you know,
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- Hey, we didn't know enough.
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- We didn't really, no, no, no. they were judged
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- Because they knew too much and they did too little.
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- Ugh. and the ruins behind me, they're still preaching.
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- They're still preaching. grace ignored becomes judgment.
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- Truth, delayed becomes what? testimony.
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- And familiarity without obedience is not safety.
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- It's actually danger. danger.
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- I mean, i feel this in the pit of my stomach,
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- Because we're all guilty of this as christians.
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- You know, the question capernaum asked,
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- Every generation is very simple.
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- What will you do with the jesus? you know so well?
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- Because blessing is not about proximity.
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- It's about response.
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- Each and every one of us have to choose
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- To make that response.
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- Lord, i, i'm, i'm gonna respond to you.
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- And i, i've seen this many, many, many times
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- Where we just get comfortable.
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- We get used to hosting the holy spirit.
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- We get used to seeing them miraculous.
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- And no, lord, take me back to my first love.
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- Take me back to that place where i first knew you.
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- I wanna respond to you. and how dare we even ask for more?
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- God, we've already seen so much.
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- You know, i think there's something very humbling about
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- Being here, because there's something in my heart i don't
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- Know about you watching right now that says, i don't want
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- To be like the per the people of capernaum.
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- I i don't, i don't want to be like them.
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- That, that see god do amazing things and yet go right.
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- But the truth is, many of us are like that.
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- So what do we do? well before this video is over?
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- We're gonna do the thing that they didn't do here.
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- We're gonna repent. and what does repent mean?
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- I'm gonna turn from my wicked ways.
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- And, and you know why that's important?
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- Because all, all of us, if you're asked the question, do,
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- Do you wanna receive a miracle from god?
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- Oh yeah, of course.
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- Do you wanna receive breakthrough in your finances?
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- Yeah, of course. do you want to stop sinning?
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- Well, no, because i do this for comfort.
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- I, i sin because it helps me see, the thing is jesus, in,
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- In another instance, he, he actually heals 10 lepers
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- With an incurable skin disease.
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- And it says that only one of 'em came back to worship him.
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- That means nine others received a medically
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- Impossible miracle.
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- And still, it was not enough to serve him,
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- To come back to him.
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- And, and i think moments like this right now are important.
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- And this should serve as a reminder look,
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- Looking at the ruins of this city, that,
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- That we cannot be like that.
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- So let's just, whether you're saying this
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- For the first time,
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- Or whether you're renewing it as if it's the first time,
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- Let's come back to him.
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- Father, i thank you right now for many
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- Who are watching this.
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- And, and you could even say this with me.
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- Lord, i, i want you to be my first love.
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- Take me back to that place.
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- I submit, i surrender, and i repent.
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- And i thank you that you've broken the curse off of me
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- By the blood of your la of the lamb.
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- And father, that i can be free from the curse
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- Because you hung on a tree to free me from that.
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- In jesus' mighty name, amen. amen.
- 00:08:15.144 --> 00:08:18.180
- - jesus said in matthew seven, narrow is the gate,
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- And difficult is the way that leads to life.
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- In a world that celebrates compromise, god calls us
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- To live set apart, to walk the narrow way with courage,
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- Conviction, and faith.
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- Stay connected and learn more at mikesignorelli.com.
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