The 28th chapter of Deuteronomy presents the unfailing methods to receive blessings from God and the kinds of blessings to be given us as we prepare our vessels for them.
Let's examine three keys to receiving God's blessings—the Words and commandments of the Bible, obedience, and faith—and check whether our vessels are well-prepared to receive the blessings.
The First Key The Words and Commandments
"Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth" (Deuteronomy 28:1).
Here, 'all His commandments' refers to the Words in the Bible. The Bible was not written by the will of any men, but people who were inspired by the Spirit wrote down the will of God (2 Timothy 3:16).
In the Bible, the phrase, "...declares the LORD" is repeated numerous times. This tells us that the Bible is certainly the Words of God and they contain the heart and will of God. So God is telling us that we have to listen to all the Words.
Now, what does it mean by 'listen'? It is not only to hear with the ears. But it means we have to listen carefully and act upon it.
Just as it is said that faith comes from hearing, we first have to hear the Word of God, read it, and meditate on it diligently. More importantly, we must put it into practice immediately by keeping it in mind as we learn it.
Next, the commandments are the things that God Himself specifically ordered us to do. The Ten Commandments are the best example.
We can feel the force from the word 'commandment' itself. So it is not something about which we have an option. It is something that we simply must do. Moreover, it is God's commandment so we must keep it.
Most of the commandments of God are directly related with the life, death, blessings and curses. If we have the willingness to keep them, they are not really difficult to keep. If we feel the love of God contained in them, we will feel joy in keeping them (1 John 5:3).
God gave the commandments for our good (Deuteronomy 10:13). So, if we understand this heart of God and voluntarily obey His commands with joy, then our vessels are ready for blessings and we can enjoy the blessings.
The Second Key True Obedience
"All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God" (Deuteronomy 28:2).
The true and strict meaning of obedience is to do and accomplish things you cannot really do considering the actual situation with the eyes of faith.
In other words, it is not doing something you are able to do, but to do something with faith you otherwise could not do. There are things that we cannot obey if we utilize human thoughts and theories, but we can obey such things with faith and this is true obedience.
But in fact, although men think certain things are absolutely impossible, in the sight of God those things are things that can be done. It is not you but God who gets them done, so there is nothing impossible if you obey with faith (Mark 9:23). We must check to see if we have disobeyed just because things were against our thoughts, benefits, and plans.
As Isaiah 1:19 says, "If you consent and obey, you will eat the best of the land," if we joyfully obey the Word then we can enjoy abundant blessings on this earth.
The Third Key Belief in the Word of God
"God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19)
God's Word is always and certainly fulfilled (Isaiah 55:10-11). To believe in God is to believe the Word of God completely. To believe the Word of God is to perfectly believe His words are fulfilled in His plans and providence according to His will. We cannot interpret the Words of God as we see fit and according to our standards. The thoughts of men and of God are just too incomparably different (Isaiah 55:8-9). Thus, even if the Word of God is different from our thoughts for the moment, and even if things seem to be going in an unexpected direction, our faith must not be shaken. Then God will cause all things to work together for good at the best time.
But in most cases, people's faith will be shaken if things are not done in the way or at the time they expected. Their trust in God is shaken. But God says double-minded people should not expect they will receive an answer from God (James 1:6-8).
God promised Abraham would have a son of promise, but God's Word was not fulfilled right away. It was fulfilled after a long time had passed, at the most appropriate time in God's sight. Abraham finally got his seed of promise, Isaac, because he believed in God until the end.
Those who are doing businesses should remember this. If you have committed your business to God with faith, you should not make decisions as you see fit. You have to wait until God gives you an answer at the most appropriate time.
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