BLESSINGS FOR BEING OBEDIENT

Proclamation:

"If you fully obey The Lord your God and carefully follow all His commands ... The Lord your God will set you high ... All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey The Lord your God: You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.  The fruit of your womb will be blessed ... You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.  The Lord will send a blessing on ... everything you put your hand to.  The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.  Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of The Lord, and they will fear you.  The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity ... The Lord will make you the head, not the tail ... you will always be at the top, never at the bottom." Deuteronomy 28:1-14 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Moses again told the people of God about the promise of God's blessings if they keep the covenant with God.  He follows these promises of blessings with a warning of the curses that would come to them with their disobedience. (Deuteronomy 28:15-68)  There are six blessings presented for being obedient followed by twelve curses for being disobedient.

Application:

The Bible clearly states what we are to do and not do, as well as what we are to say and not say, as Christians.  But even as believers we frequently choose to do what we want to do.  We choose to read only portions of The Bible and although we know what it says, we choose not to follow The Word of God.  Even though it spells out the consequences of being disobedient, we still choose to disobey.  Then we wonder why so many things go so wrong in our lives.  Thankfully, The Lord God allows us to receive some blessings in spite of our sinful nature.  However, there are many more blessings "with our name on them" that are conditional blessings which we could receive if we would follow God's Holy Word.  Let us become both readers and doers of The Word of God.  Let's change one or more of our sinful ways each day and begin to enjoy more of the blessings of obedience.

THE BLESSINGS OF GOD

Proclamation:

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, The Lord appeared to him … Then God said, ‘Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac.  I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.’” Genesis 17:1-19 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by Moses.  He documents that The Lord God can bless believers in ways far beyond their wildest dreams.  Abram was faithful and obedient, and God blessed him and his family.  He was blessed with a long life and he was fruitful even in his old age.  God changed Abram’s name to Abraham and his wife Sarai’s name to Sarah. (Genesis 17:5 and 17:15)  Abraham’s wife Sarah was blessed to bear him a son when she was ninety years old.  Nothing is impossible for God. (Jeremiah 32:27)

Application:

The Lord can change our name, our direction, and our life. (2 Corinthians 5:17)  He can bless us in more ways than we can imagine.  No matter what situation we find ourselves in, if we are faithful and obedient to God's word, He can bless us and use us in ways that are beyond that which we thought was not humanly possible.  God is in control of everything and with Him all blessings are possible. (Matthew 19:26 and Mark 10:27)

WE ARE BLESSED

Proclamation:

"Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.  Blessed is the one whose sin The Lord does not count against them, and in whose spirit there is no deceit." Psalms 32:1-2

Explanation:

This psalm was written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  David knew that he was a sinner and he frequently prayed and asked God to forgive him of his sins.  He knew that he was blessed because God had forgiven him for all of his sins and transgressions.

Applications:

We often think of blessings as something tangible, like wealth or possessions.  Some of the best blessings we can receive are good health, a long life, and happiness, along with the protection from dangers seen and unseen.  However, it is my opinion that the greatest blessing of all is the forgiveness of our sins.  We are blessed!  All of our "... transgressions ... sins ... iniquities ...", and our rebellion against the will of God, our failure to live up to His Word and keep His commandments, and the perversions of our fleshly desires, were all forgiven by the death of Jesus on the cross.  If we confess our sins and iniquities and ask to be forgiven, then they are not charged to our account. (1 John 1:9)  We are covered by the blood of Jesus.  All of our sins, shortcomings, and our deceitful tendencies and thoughts are forgiven.  That is truly a blessing.

FAITHFULLY WATCHING AND DOING

Proclamation:

“It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes…” Luke 12:37  The King James version of The Bible for this verse reads: “Blessed are those servants, whom The Lord when He cometh shall find watching ...”

Explanation:

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, as reported by Luke, the physician and frequent traveling companion of the Apostle Paul.  Jesus was speaking to His disciples and to the surrounding crowd.  His point is that the good servant will be watching and working while he waits for his master to return.  He will be prepared when his master returns.

Application:

Since we do not know the day or the hour of our Lord's second coming, we ought to live our lives continually expecting and ready for His return.  "Be ye therefore ready also; for The Son of Man cometh at an hour that ye think not." (Luke 12:40)  We must also be ready, because The Son of Man will come at an hour when we do not expect Him.  If we stay ready then we won’t have to try to get ready when He comes.  Being faithful stewards means that we should be studying and meditating on The Word of God and living our lives according to His will. "... Who then is that faithful and wise steward ... Blessed is that servant, whom His Lord when He cometh shall find so doing." (Luke 12:42-43)  By doing that we will be ready for Him whenever He returns.  Then when we see Him we will hear Him say “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  (Matthew 25:21)

AN ABUNDANCE OF BLESSINGS

Proclamation:

"A faithful man shall abound in blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished." Proverbs 28:20

Explanation:

These are the words of King Solomon, the wisest man to ever live, (2 Chronicles 1:7-12 and 1 Kings 4:29-34) which were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God to warn the young people, and all of the other people of God, regarding the dangers of  being greedy, stingy, and concerned only with getting rich.  Solomon told the people that the man who lives by The Word of God will have and abundance of blessings.  Those who live only to get rich and are only concerned with their prosperity will suffer.

Application:

We all want to be blessed.  Even though we have already been blessed, and we are currently being blessed, we want even more blessings.  When we pray, additional blessings are usually what we are praying for.  However, there are some things that we can do in order to receive more blessings from The Lord.  Being faithful to God and His Word will bring us an abundance of blessings.  When we live by The Word of God we will be blessed abundantly. (Proverbs 28:14)  Those who are only concerned with getting rich will be punished. (Proverbs 28:22)  The love of money is the root of all evil. (1 Timothy 6:10)  Some blessings are the product of honest labor and the adherence to the promises that we made to God when we prayed.  We should ask God for His help and for Him to give us the strength and courage of our convictions.  We all need His help in order to be faithful.  Because in the end, we all want to hear Jesus say: "Well done, good and faithful servant ..." (Matthew 25:21 and 23)